Two hundred persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City have been transferred to the Leyte Regional Prison (LRP), the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said on Friday, Feb. 9.
BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. said the transfer would beef up the needs of LRP for more manpower for its “Green Revolution” program.
Catapang said the 200 PDLs left NBP last Tuesday night, Feb. 6, and arrived at the LRP Thursday night, Feb. 8.
“They were escorted by corrections officers augmented by SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team and escort personnel from different NBP offices,” he said.
BuCor records show that 3,259 PDLs from the NBP and the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City have been transferred to other prison facilities from June 2022 to January 2024.
Those transferred were relocated to the Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF) in Davao del Norte, the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm (SPPF) in Occidental Mindoro, and the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF) in Palawan.
Catapang said BuCor has been engaged in supporting the government’s food security program through the planting of rice and vegetables done by PDLs who, in turn, earn a living.
“We have laid down the foundation for the modernization of BuCor and we will see to it that this endeavor will result in the betterment of PDLs and the BuCor as a whole to be relevant, sustainable and respectable,” he said.
BuCor has started collaborations with government agencies like the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) in the productive use of the bureau's idle landholdings and have the PDLS participate as workers in agricultural business ventures, he added.