Iwahig prison and penal farm

The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) intends to use 501 hectares of land of the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF) in Palawan for agricultural production.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Aug. 17, BuCor said the use of IPPF’s land for agriculture is in line of the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Reformation Initiative for Sustainable Environment (RISE) food security project. 

The DA and BuCor had signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the RISE project.

BuCor said “the project aims to engage and implement agro-industrial projects through the development of land areas and resources into productive agricultural camps or food production centers to contribute to the country’s food security.”

It also said the project will “provide the persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) with appropriate training to equip them with the needed capability for their means of livelihood in preparation for their reintegration into society and their families, and initiate the PDLs’ rehabilitation through agricultural production training, horticultural therapy, and vocational gardening under the BuCor’s Work and Livelihood Program.”

At the same time, it said the project “will enhance the PDLs and other members of the community’s food sufficiency, meal nutrition, and dietary qualities with a year-round, mass produced, and sustainable harvest of fruits and vegetables.”

BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. said the RISE project will provide additional income to participating PDLs, contribute to their reformation and prepare them to live a normal and productive life upon reintegration to the mainstream society.