MANILA, Philippines — Starting September, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) will implement cashless transactions in operating prisons and penal farms to stop inmates from engaging in illegal activities.
Inmates have been allowed to keep P2,000 in cash weekly, which they earn from livelihood programs or are sent by their relatives.
The cash can be used by inmates to purchase items in prison stores.
“We received reports that some inmates used their money in illegal transactions. So to put a stop to this practice, all prisons and penal farms will be a cashless zone,” BuCor chief Gregorio Catapang Jr. said yesterday.
Under the cashless policy, inmates and corrections officers alike are prohibited from carrying bills and coins, “or else these will be confiscated and deposited in a trust fund for inmates and employees,” Catapang said.
Credit booklets for inmates will also be introduced for prison store purchases. Unauthorized BuCor personnel in possession of such booklets will be fired.
Jail congestion
To address jail congestion, contractors tasked with constructing facilities in four penal farms supervised by the BuCor have been ordered to speed up work.
Catapang said he had instructed the contractors to fast-track the construction of facilities at the Davao Prison and Penal Farm, Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm and Leyte Regional Prison, along with the rehabilitation of dorms and administrative buildings at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City.
“These infrastructure are crucial in the BuCor’s operations since we are in the process of decongesting the New Bilibid Prison (NBP),” he said.
Catapang said the projects, which broke ground during the Duterte administration, have a total funding of P1 billion.
“These projects should have been completed last year,” he said.
Meanwhile, a lawmaker has filed a bill seeking to create the Department of Corrections and Jail Management to “rightsize” the country’s jail management system.
Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan said House Bill 8672 would ensure that government resources are used “prudently and efficiently in running prisons and reformation facilities.”
“One of the challenges with the Philippine correctional system lies in fragmentation. The lack of a unified corrections system hampers data sharing and communication between agencies,” the measure read.
Security lapses
Meanwhile, the lapses in security measures at the NBP, which led to the escape of inmate Michael Cataroja were unacceptable, according to Sen. Ronald dela Rosa.
Dela Rosa, who headed the NBP in 2018 before being elected senator, said a probe should be conducted to determine the extent of command responsibility and negligence over the incident.
“Too many lapses. That’s unacceptable. Maximum security tapos matatakasan ng preso. It’s embarrasing,” Dela Rosa told reporters. “Heads must roll so this does not happen again.”
Sen. Francis Tolentino, chairman of the Senate committee on justice and human rights, is set to conduct a hearing today on the alleged security breach that allowed Cataroja to escape from the NBP.
Cataroja, 25, whose remains were initially thought to have been found inside a septic tank in Bilibid, was recaptured by police last week. — Sheila Crisostomo