Five hundred persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) were transferred last Saturday, May 18, from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City to the Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF) in Panabo City, the Bureau of Corrections BuCor) said on Sunday, May 19.
BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. said the transfer was done in line with the continuing efforts to decongest the NBP in preparation for its closure before 2028.
Catapang said those transferred included 250 PDLs from NBP's maximum security camp, 50 from minimum security camp, and 200 from the reception and diagnostic center (RDC).
The RDC is the holding area for new PDLs who undergo diagnostic examination, and study and observation for determining the program of treatment and training best suited to their needs and the institution where they should be transferred.
New PDLs stay at the RDC for 60 before being transferred a prison facility outside Metro Manila.
Earlier this month, the BuCor transferred a total of 107 Bilibid inmates to the Leyte Regional Prison LRP) in Abuyog, Leyte.