Philippines
Muntinlupa Mayor Biazon: City gov’t should be consulted on NBP land dev't
Muntinlupa Mayor Biazon: City gov’t should be consulted on NBP land dev't
Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon said the city government should be consulted and must be part of the planning regarding the development of the vast New Bilibid Prison (NBP) land located in Barangay Poblacion.
“My position on NBP land development is that the local government should not only be consulted with regard to development plans but we should also be made a part of the planning since the city has its own land use and development plans for its jurisdiction,” Biazon told Manila Bulletin.
He added, “It is necessary and imperative for the bureau’s plans to blend in with those of the city,” referring to the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), which has jurisdiction over NBP and other prison and penal farms in the country.
Under Republic Act 10575, the The Bureau of Corrections Act of 2013, it is stated that “aside from administrative purposes, all BuCor lands shall be used for inmate security, reformation programs and as a means to promote sustainability, both for income and non-income generating programs, with or without partnership among non-government organizations, civic organizations or other government entities.”
“As a way to maximize its assets’ value for the effective and extensive reformation (corrections) programs for national inmates, the BuCor shall have the absolute authority to design, formulate and implement land-use development plans and policies,” according to Section 6 of the law.
Biazon said that “while the BuCor Modernization law says the agency has ‘absolute authority’ over the formulation of the development plans of its property, it doesn’t prohibit it from becoming partners with the LGU.”
“Logically and practically, it would be ideal to have a symbiotic and cooperative relationship between the BuCor and City Government of Muntinlupa (CGM). After all, regulation of developments in a particular jurisdiction falls within the authority of the LGU,” he added.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla recently bared his plan to transfer prisoners from the NBP’s maximum security compound to the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro.