More than 500 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City have been transferred to the Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF) in Panabo City, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said on Friday, March 22.
“The transfer of PDLs from various operating prisons and penal farms is also part of our preparation for the closure of the NBP,” BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. said in a statement.
Catapang said that around 500 Bilibid's PDLs left the NBP last March 16 and arrived at the DPPF on March 18.
“The PDLs were escorted by 144 corrections officers composed of medical personnel, and Escort Team headed by CSInsp. Roberto Butawan and assisted also by the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” BuCor said.
Last Feb. 8 and March 9, BuCor also transferred 400 Bilibid's PDLs to the Leyte Regional Prison (LRP) in Abuyog, Leyte.
Prior the transfers made last February and March, 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 DPPF, the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm (SPPF) in Occidental Mindoro, and the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF) in Palawan.