The budget of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) increased by 23 percent this year from P6.1 billion in 2023 to P7.4 billion, Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. said on Tuesday, Jan. 2.
Catapang said the 2024 budget will be utilized to improve BuCor's services "so that the bureau will have a pyramidal chain of command."
Among the programs lined up for 2024 are the deployment of canine units to the bureau’s operating prisons and penal farms (OPPFs) outside Metro Manila, the installation of closed circuit television (CCTV) camera systems in OPPFs that can be monitored in the national headquarters, acquisition of earthmoving equipment for development projects, and titling of all BuCor properties.
BuCor's increased budget was relayed to the bureau's officials and personnel during Catapang's New Year's meeting in Muntinlupa City.
Catapang said that aside from the P7.4 billion budet, “an additional P1 billion budget will be transferred to BuCor from the Department of Public Works and Highways for the construction of Supermax or facilities for heinous crimes.”
He said he has directed BuCor Deputy Director Al Perreras to immediately convene the Program and Budgetting Advisory Committee to finalize the Annual Procurement Plan for 2024.