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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider BuCor business ventures will be a boon to PDLs, says this solon 

BuCor business ventures will be a boon to PDLs, says this solon 

Published Feb 7, 2024 12:51 am

At A Glance

  • Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan expects the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to prioritize the welfare of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) in connection with its improved business ventures with the private sector. 

FB_IMG_1707266395551.jpgBicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan (Facebook)

Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan expects the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to prioritize the welfare of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) in connection with its improved business ventures with the private sector.

Yamsuan had this to say as he hailed the BuCor for partnering with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) in establishing economic zones in select areas of the Bureau’s penal facilities.

“We laud General [Gregorio Oio] Catapang [Jr.] for taking the lead in developing BuCor’s real estate assets through tie-ups with the private sector. This plan is a key factor in transforming the bureau into a modern, highly professionalized and self-sustaining agency,” Yamsuan said.

“As it starts to earn from its business activities, we are optimistic that BuCor would ensure that improving the welfare of the PDLs under its custody would be its top priority in spending its additional income,” said the neophyte legislator. Catapang serves as BuCor director general.

Yamsuan says providing PDLs with decent and habitable quarters, adequate, and nutritious food, quality medical care, and well-crafted reformation programs should be first on BuCor’s agenda when it starts to profit from its business ventures.

Yamsuan, a former assistant secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), said qualified PDLs should also be given priority in getting jobs in the ecozones and other business ventures of BuCor.

According to Catapang, the BuCor’s land assets total 48,783 hectares. He said these "can be converted into agro- and aqua-culture sites and economic zones".

The Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF), where there is an ongoing project to establish a modern agricultural hub, is a possible site of the first ecozone to be set up by BuCor and PEZA.

Yamsuan said establishing both an agricultural hub and an ecozone at the IPPF are complementary endeavors, and can even make BuCor a contributor to the government’s goal of attaining food security.

"The Iwahig penal farm can even become a model for BuCor in uplifting the welfare of PDLs under its care. The twin projects of establishing an agricultural hub and an ecozone in the site will provide PDLs with enough nutritious food, generate additional income for BuCor to elevate their living conditions and give them the opportunity to get decent jobs," he explained.

A staunch advocate of reforms in the country’s fragmented correctional system, Yamsuan is the principal author of House Bill 8672, which aims to create a Department of Corrections and Jail Management (DCJM).

Yamsuan said unifying the BuCor with other agencies tasked to manage the country’s jails and parole and probation services will ensure the seamless coordination among the different agencies involved in the administration of justice and the management and care of PDLs.

Related Tags

persons with disabilities Bureau of Corrections Brian Raymund Yamsuan
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