Bilibid to be closed down by 2028

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s premier detention facility for convicts will be closed by 2028, Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said yesterday.

In an interview with dzBB, Catapang said efforts are underway to transfer at least 30,000 inmates incarcerated in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.

“Isasara na natin ito. By 2028, sarado na (We will close it down. By 2028, it will be closed),” he said.

The closure of the NBP is part of the BuCor’s program to transform the 357-hectare property into a commercial center similar to the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

Dubbing it as BuCor Global City, Catapang said the proposed project would also house a food terminal.

Catapang said around 500 inmates from the NBP would be transferred to the BuCor’s prison facility in Palawan.

The transfer of the NBP inmates is part of the BuCor’s regionalization program wherein prisoners are incarcerated in the regions where their home provinces are located.

He cited the NBP’s maximum security compound, which has a capacity of 6,000 inmates but has 18,000 prisoners.

With a proposed budget of P77.7 billion, Catapang said they would be able to construct more detention facilities to accommodate inmates from the NBP.