The Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm was originally set up in 1902 by the United States to house Philippine prisoners who had fought against the American colonization of the Philippines. Today, situated on the lush island of Palawan, only 30 minutes by road from Puerto Princesa City, Iwahig is unique among penal institutions. Despite the fact that most of the 2,300 inmates have been convicted of homicide, the majority are minimum security prisoners and are thus not locked up within the colony. Instead, these minimum security inmates live in dormitories and work on one of the many agricultural projects located within the prison farm. Prisoners who are deemed to be at risk of escaping are confined to medium or maximum security areas, where they are monitored, but these prisoners comprise less than fifty percent of the Iwahig population.
Girls return home from school, passing maximum security prisoners working in a garden.
Many of the prison employees live within the penal colony with their families, and there is even an elementary school within the colony. After they gain the trust of the guards some colonists are given more responsibility. In this case, a trusted prisoner watches over other inmates working in the rice-fields. Minimum security prisoners bring rice in from the fields. Minimum security prisoners thresh rice.