Philippines
National
Pimentel bats for world-class, state-of-the-art 'super maximum security facility'
Pimentel bats for world-class, state-of-the-art 'super maximum security facility'
A world-class, state-of-the-art ‘’super maximum security facility’’ should be the place for the individuals ‘’caged’’ at the country’s maximum security facilities, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III said.
Pimentel said that the construction of such an expensive facility would have a ‘’deterrent’’ effect.
The former Senate President pointed out that the current maximum security facilities in the country’s penal institutions do not meet international standards.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla voiced his support for the Pimentel proposal disclosed in the organizational meeting of the Senate Justice and Human Rights Committee on Wednesday, Aug. 17. The panel is chaired by Senator Francis Tolentino.
Remulla said that for the past 20 years, there were 400 escapees from the country’s maximum security facilities, and that a small portion escaped from the maximum security facility.
Senator Ronald ‘’Bato’’ dela Rosa, a former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, supported a proposal of Senator Robinhood Padilla for the regionalization of the country’s penal system.
There were proposals in the past 18th Congress for the transfer of the NBP to Laur, Nueva Ecija and to sell off the current NBP in Muntinglupa City, a prime residential and commercial area.
Before Pimentel proposed a ‘’world-class’’ maximum facility, Remulla favored the construction of a maximum security facility in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro for prisoners in the National Capital Region (NCR) and adjoining regions. There will be another for the north, he added.
He said the Mindoro island requires the installation of new power sources because the current electrical supply is not on a 24-7 condition.
Dela Rosa said there are seven correctional facilities throughout the country.
In a related development, Padilla reminded officials of the DOJ and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to uphold the rights of inmates, especially those who are to be moved to provincial colonies from the NBP.
Padilla, who experienced life as an inmate for more than three years, noted that some 80 percent of inmates are poor people who did not have legal representation and are unlike the so-called hardcore criminals.
"Nais ko ipaalala sa ating kumite, ang mga bilanggo, sila po ay protektado pa rin ng ating Konstitusyon (I wish to remind our committee that inmates are protected under our Constitution). At hinihingi ko po sa ating lahat na anuman ang plano natin sa ginagawa lang ng iilang siraulong demonyo diyan sa BIlibid, huwag naman maapektuhan ang karamihan. Iilan lang yan na sasagad sa kaluluwa ang kasamaan nila (I am asking that whatever we are planning to address the acts of a few bad criminals, it should not apply to the majority of inmates. Only a few of them are hardcore criminals)," Padilla said at the organizational meeting of the Senate Justice Committee.
Padilla also stressed the need to uphold the rights of inmates to be visited by their families.
One of the first bills that Padilla filed was Senate Bill (SB) 235 which aims to address the problems of congestion of jails and to ensure that inmates are visited by their loved ones.
As the author of the bill, he stressed there are only a few penitentiary institutions nationwide, and families of inmates have difficulties visiting them due to limitations in travel and accommodation.
Under the proposal, the penal farms to be established will have a "standard and uniform design" for the prison, reformation, and administrative facilities.
The bill mandates the BuCor to create an infrastructure plan, coordinate the construction of the regional penitentiaries, and carry out the decentralization and transfer of prisoners to the regional penal farms.