Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon is supporting the transfer of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) to Palawan but said the city government should be included in the development plan of the land that will be vacated by the facility.
Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. announced during the agency’s 119th anniversary that NBP’s minimum, medium, and maximum prison facilities will be transferred to Palawan.
The NBP land in Muntinlupa, measuring about 300 hectares, will be transformed into a “BuCor Global City.”
The New Bilibid Prison main building in Muntinlupa (Jonathan Hicap)
Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon (Photo from Muntinlupa PIO)
Biazon said when he was congressman of Muntinlupa, he advocated for the transfer of NBP to other regions.
“I have long advocated for the transfer of the penitentiary to regional facilities. During my first term as Representative of Muntinlupa City to the House of Representatives in early 2000, I had already expressed that position for three main reasons,” he said.
One reason, he said, “is due to its incompatibility to the developments in the surrounding area, which are currently residential communities.”
“The risk to these communities has been validated in instances when inmates escaped the facility. In addition, being located in a densely populated area, the prison is prone to infiltration by those who try to smuggle in contraband by various means, including throwing items over the perimeter walls. It has also become prone to squatting and illegal settlers,” he said.
In 1940, the Old Bilibid Prison in Manila was transferred to Muntinlupa and became known as New Bilibid Prison.
The NBP Reservation not only consists of the prison facilities but houses for employees and their families, schools, churches, parks and historical landmarks.
Biazon added that “the centralized set up is not conducive to reformation and rehabilitation of inmates because they become cut off from family and visitation, especially those who come from the provinces. With a regional set up, the inmates can be easily visited by their loved ones, hence maintain contact with society, making reintegration more feasible.”
He said the NBP land should be developed, which will benefit the city.
“The prime property where it stands now should be made available for development that will economically benefit the city where it is located, as long as the development is aligned the LGUs development plan for its jurisdiction,” he said.
The mayor said the city government should be included in any development plan of the national government.
“Although NBP is a national government property, the development plan should not exclude the local government of Muntinlupa because it has an impact on the LGU's overall plan for the city and its constituents. It will be a gross error to leave the City Government out of the planning and execution of the development plan for the property,” he said.