DOMINIC A.

CORDERO MPA 452

CORRECTIONAL IMPRISONMENT: LIVES OF THE INMATES

It is the policy of the State to promote the general welfare and safeguard the basic
rights of every prisoner incarcerated in our national penitentiary. It also recognizes
the responsibility of the State to strengthen government capability aimed towards the
institutionalization of highly efficient and competent correctional services.

Section 1 of the Republic Act No.10575

INTRODUCTION

The Philippine Correction System is composed of the organizations in the government,

the business division involved in the confinement, civil society, correction and
restoration of persons charged for/or convicted of delinquent acts of crimes. The public
sectors formulates polices and rules on correction, penology and jail management,
rehabilitation and restoration. All prisons or penitentiaries, jails and detention centre’s
are under the direct control and supervision of the government. The government plays
a dominant role in the correction and rehabilitation of offenders.

In the Philippines correctional inmate convicted from their delinquent act shall be
charged into custody and rehabilitation with the Bureau of Correction (BuCor) to serve
a sentence in national prison. They are kept from committing crimes while in custody,
provide them with basic needs and implementing a variety of rehabilitation programs,
engaged agro-industrial projects, developing and employing inmate manpower skills
and labor, providing source of income and augmenting the Bureau’s yearly
appropriation. When correctional inmates are discharged, they should be able to live
an independent life negated of crime. Not only that they should be able to contribute
towards the development of the society

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The study focuses on how the correctional inmates cope up with their lives behind
bars and the execution Bureau of Corrections standards on minimum rules in
implementation of punishment, humane treatment of inmates, and the application of
rehabilitation programs through the development of changing prisoners’ pattern of illicit
acts or anti-social behavior.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS

A lot of challenges will be encountered when the case in point is approaching for the
prisoners to be liberated from imprisonment. For some inmates it is an exhilarating
occurrence of their lives because they are finally going to get their freedom back, but
for others, it is a hectic period since they do not know what life would be like in free
society after having spent many years behind bars.

Several of these stressful challenges in prisoners come to mind on committing their

freedoms:

Unemployment

Previous to their imprisonment, some of the prisoners engaged in criminal activities in

order to survive since they had no employable skills.

It is difficult to get a job in the Philippines if you have a criminal record. When prisoners
cannot obtain any skills training inside the penitentiary, it could pose a serious
challenge after released.

Living the life of a vagrant

It is a real serious problem for some prisoners when we talk about without a roof over
your head. Not all of the prisoners have a place to call a home or no permanent
address and led street lives engaging in various criminal activities. Getting discharged
from imprisonment and returning to become a homeless person again is frightening to
some of them.

Financial Assistance

When finally discharged, surely the first thing a prisoner will do is to go back to his/her
place and it is difficult for them to start a new life without cash on hand or any
assistance, how can they survive without money, reaching their destination and finding
somewhere to stay without resorting to crime again?

Social Needs

Deprivation of liberty during imprisonment is one of the worst punishments.

Belongingness and attention are important to prisoners; lost of contact and long period
of imprisonment in correctional facilities far from their families and friends are crucial
for them. Longing for the love of their families, the possibility of break-up relationship
could cost prisoners serious implication for the social reintegration.
SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH

Curiosity on the lives of correctional inmates is the core reason of this study; few are
those who are interested to be acquainted with the chronicles of prisoners inside the
penitentiary. Society must not disregard prisoners punished by deprivation of their civil
rights it is mandated by the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules that humane
treatment of the correctional inmates should be present at all cost.

REVIEW ON RELATED LITERATURE

J. Lorenzo Perillo (2011, December) “If I was not in prison, I would be famous”:
Discipline Choreography, mimicry in the Philippines

Preda Foundation,Inc. (2016, May 10) The Situation of the Philippine Penitentiaries;
An Update on the Study on the Condition of Jails and Correctional Institutions in the
Country Commission on Human Rights
http://www.preda.org/media/research-documents/the-situation-of-the-philippine-
penitentiaries/

Adelina Diana Iftene (2011, August) Convicts and Human Rights: A Comparative
Study on Prison Treatment in Europe and Canada

Nicole Borger (2010, May 26) Prison Reformation: A Five-Step Plan and Evidence of
Community Support
http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/honorscollege_theses

Ray Vincent E. Araña (2016, May 3) Quality of Life of Prison Inmates in Iligan City Jail
http://www.academia.edu/10253192/Quality_of_Life_of_Prison_Inmates_in_Iligan_Ci
ty_Jail