Top government officials will convene starting on Wednesday, Jan. 21, in a national summit to tackle the efforts that have been undertaken and will pursue to decongest jail and prison facilities in the country.

The summit -- spearheaded by the Supreme Court (SC), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) – will be held at the Pandanggo and Polkabal Halls of the Manila Hotel.

The opening ceremonies will be held starting at 6 p.m. on Jan. 21. Summit sessions will be on Jan. 22 and 23 starting at 9 a.m. on both days.

President Marcos is expected to deliver his message like what he did when the first National Jail Decongestion Summit was held in December 2023.

In his speech in 2023, the President emphasized the need for a “whole-of-government approach” to address the high congestion rates in the country’s prison facilities.

He welcomed the summit as a demonstration of "the commitment of the entire government to expedite the processing of criminal cases and alleviate the chronic problem of jail congestion."

Aside from the top officials of the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary branches of government, also expected to attend the summit are international partners – the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Government of Australia, the European Union through the European Union-Governance in Justice Programme, and the International Development Law Organization and United Nations Office for Project Services.

The summit is spearheaded by the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC) which is composed of the SC, the DOJ, and the DILG.

Through the JSCC, the government has set up at least 16 Justice Zones (JZs) in the country where judges, law enforcers, prosecutors, public attorneys, and managers of detention facilities meet to identify problems and arrive at common solutions to address them.

As of December 2025, the existing JZs in the country are those in Quezon City, Cebu City, Davao City, Angeles City, Bacolod City, Naga City, Calamba City, Balanga City, Baguio City, Zamboanga City (First Specialty Zone-Trafficking), Tagaytay City (Tourism), Puerto Princesa City (Green Zone), Dagupan City, Cagayan De Oro City, Iligan City, and Ozamiz City.

Those in the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, and Ozamiz make up the Tri-City Anti-Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (Anti-OSAEC) JZ.

In a press briefer, the SC said the Manila Hotel summit is in line with the JSCC’s project on jail decongestion and will focus on long-term structural and legislative reforms.

Published reports stated that congestion rates in jail and prison facilities in 2025 remained high.

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) reported around 280 percent jail congestion nationally as of September 2025, while the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) showed rates near 290 percent, particularly in its New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.

As of Dec. 31, 2025, the BuCor reported that more than 28,800 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) have been released from its prison facilities since July 2022.

It said that among those released since July 2022 were 18,222 PDLs whose jail sentences had expired and others who secured their freedom through various means like parole and acquittal of their criminal charges, or executive clemency.

With the continuous release of qualified PDLs, congestion rate at the NBP had dropped by 69 percent from 356 percent in 2022, the BuCor said.

During the first decongestion summit in 2023, Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo said: “The problem of jail congestion has been building up over the years. As our population increases, as more laws are passed, as the enforcement of our laws become more efficient, as prosecutions result in more convictions, and as judgments are more quickly handed down, the increase in the number of prisoners is only expected. Without a corresponding expansion of our jail facilities, congestion would naturally result.”