Chapter II

History of Corrections in the Philippine Setting

Early Legal and Penal System

 Code of Datu Sumakwel
 Code of Kalantiaw
 Maragtas Code
 Code of Datu Sikatuna

Code of Kalantiaw was a legendary legal code in the epic story Maragtas. It
is said to have been written in 1433 by Datu Kalantiaw, a chief on the island of
Negros in the Philippines. It was actually written in 1913 by Jose E. Marco as a part
of his historical fiction Las antiguas leyendas de la Isla de Negros (Spanish, "The
Ancient Legends of the Island of Negros"), which he attributed to a priest named
Jose Maria Pavon.

Laws of the Code of Kalantiaw

Article I
You shall not kill, neither shall you steal, neither shall you do harm to the aged,
lest you incur the danger of death. All those who infringe this order shall be condemned
to death by being drowned in the river, or in boiling water.
Article II
You shall obey. Let all your debts with the headman be met punctually. He who
does not obey shall receive for the first time one hundred lashes. If the debt is large, he
shall be condemned to thrust his hand in boiling water thrice. For the second time, he
shall be beaten to death.
Article III
Obey you: let no one have women that are very young nor more than he can
support; nor be given to excessive lust. He who does not comply with, obey, and
observe this order shall be condemned to swim for three hours for the first time and for
the second time, to be beaten to death with sharp thorns.
Article IV
Observe and obey; let no one disturb the quiet of the graves. When passing by
the caves and trees where they are, give respect to them. He who does not observe
this shall be killed by ants, or beaten to death with thorns.
Article V
You shall obey; he who exchanges for food, let it be always done in accordance
with his word. He who does not comply, shall be beaten for one hour, he who repeats
the offense shall be exposed for one day among ants.
Article VI
You shall be obliged to revere sights that are held in respect, such as those of
trees of recognized worth and other sights. He who fails to comply shall pay with one
month's work in gold or in honey.

Article VII
These shall be put to death; he who kills trees of venerable appearance; who
shoot arrows at night at old men and women; he who enters the houses of the
headmen without permission; he who kills a shark or a streaked cayman.
Article VIII
Slavery for a doam (a certain period of time) shall be suffered by those who steal
away the women of the headmen; by him who keep ill-tempered dogs that bite the
headmen; by him who burns the fields of another.
Article IX
All these shall be beaten for two days: who sing while traveling by night; kill the
Manaul; tear the documents belonging to the headmen; are malicious liars; or who
mock the dead.
Article X
It is decreed an obligation; that every mother teach secretly to her daughters
matters pertaining to lust and prepare them for womanhood; let not men be cruel nor
punish their women when they catch them in the act of adultery. Whoever shall disobey
shall be killed by being cut to pieces and thrown to the caymans.
Article XI
These shall be burned: who by their strength or cunning have mocked at and
escaped punishment or who have killed young boys; or try to steal away the women of
the elders.
Article XII
These shall be drowned: all who interfere with their superiors, or their owners or
masters; all those who abuse themselves through their lust; those who destroy their
anitos (religious icons) by breaking them or throwing them down.
Article XIII
All these shall be exposed to ants for half a day: who kill black cats during a new
moon; or steal anything from the chiefs or agorangs, however small the object may be.
Article XIV
These shall be made slave for life: who have beautiful daughters and deny them
to the sons of chiefs, and with bad faith hide them away.
Article XV
Concerning beliefs and traditions; these shall be beaten: who eat the diseased
flesh of beasts which they hold in respect, or the herb which they consider good, who
wound or kill the young of the Manaul, or the white monkey.
Article XVI
The fingers shall be cut-off: of all those who break anitos of wood and clay in
their alangans and temples; of those who destroy the daggers of the
catalonans(priest/priestess), or break the drinking jars of the latter.
Article XVII
These shall be killed: who profane sites where anitos are kept, and sites where
are buried the sacred things of their diwatas and headmen. He who performs his
necessities in those places shall be burned.

Article XVIII
Those who do not cause these rules to be obeyed: if they are headmen, they
shall be put to death by being stoned and crushed; and if they are agorangs they shall
be placed in rivers to be eaten by sharks and caymans.

Recopilacion de las Leyes de India (Recompilation of the Laws of the

Indies 16th Century) – this consist of the Royal Decrees, orders, ordinances and
other additional laws, rules and regulations issued by the King of Spain which are
enforceable in the colonies of Spain.

When the Spanish Colonizers conquered the Philippines, the Spanish

Codigo Penal was made applicable and extended to the Philippines by Royal
Decree of 1870. This was replaced with the old Penal Code which was put in
place by Spanish authorities, and took effect in the Philippines on July 14, 1876.
This law was effective in the Philippines until the American colonization of the
Philippines. It was only on December 8, 1930, when it was amended, under Act.
No. 3815, with the enactment of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines
(the “Revised Penal Code”).

Correctional Facilities in the Philippines

Old Bilibid Prisons

The first penal institution in the country was the Old Bilibid prison in
Oroquieta Street, Manila, which was established in 1847 pursuant to Section
1708 of the Revised Administrative Code. It was formally opened by a Royal
Decree in 1865.
Its cells were constructed in a radial shape similar to the spoke of a wheel
were a central command tower is erected at the center of the spokes for easy
control and supervision of prisoners. Each building which was made up of adobe
stones were referred to as “brigadas.” Today this historical landmark is still being
used as jail by the City of Manila.

San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm

About four years later or on August 21, 1869, the San Ramon prison and
penal farm in Zamboanga Peninsula (Zamboanga City) was established to
confine Muslim rebels and recalcitrant political prisoners opposed to the Spanish
rule. The facility, which faces Jolo sea, has the Spanish-inspired dormitories and
originally set on a 1,524.6 hectares sprawling estate. It was named in memory of
its founder Ramon Blanco, a Spanish captain in the Royal Army.

When the Americans took over in the 1900s, the Bureau of Prisons was
created under the Reorganization Act of 1905 (Act No. 1407 dated November 1,
1905) as an agency under the Department of Commerce and Police. It also
paved the way for the re-establishment of San Ramon Prison in 1907 which was
destroyed during the Spanish-American War. On January 1, 1915, the San
Ramon Prison was placed under the auspices of the Bureau of Prisons and
started receiving prisoners from Mindanao.
Presently, its principal product is copra which is one of the biggest sources
of income of the BUCOR (formerly Bureau of Prisons). It houses maximum,
medium and minimum security prisoners.

Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm

Before the reconstruction of San Ramon Prison, the Americans established

in 1904, the Iuhit penal settlement (now Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm) on a
vast reservation of 28,072 hectares on the order of Governor Forbes, then the
incumbent Secretary of Commerce and Police upon the suggestion of Governor
Luke E. Wright. It would reach an aggregate total land area of 40,000 hectares
in the late 1950s. It was located on the westernmost part of the archipelago and
far from the main town to confine incorrigibles who the government had found
little hope of rehabilitation. The area was expanded to 41,007 hectares by virtue
of Executive Order No. 67 issued by Governor Newton Gilbert on October 15,
1912. Lieutenant George Wolfe, a member of the U.S. expeditionary force was
the prison's first Director
Upon the passage of Reorganization Act of 1407 which created the Bureau
of Prisons under the Dept. of Commerce and Police, the status of Iwahig Penal
Colony was reversed from a destination of maximum-security incorrigible to well
behaved and pliable prisoners. Today it is considered as one of the most open
penal institution in the world or “The Prison without Walls.” It has four sub-
colonies namely;

 Santa Lucia
 Inagawan
 Montible
 Central

It allocated 1,000 hectares which was distributed to release inmates who no

longer had any desire to return to their original homes and instead wants to
settle to Palawan. Each released prisoner awardee is given 6-hectare farm lots as
homestead.

Correctional Institution for Women

Other penal colonies were established during the American regime. On

November 27, 1929, the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) was created
under Act No. 3579. It was an 18-hecvtare piece of land in what is now
Mandaluyong City. The institution is run entirely by female personnel with the
exception of the perimeter guards who are male.
The CIW was fo7unded to provide separate facilities for women offenders
and to cater to their gender difference. To date, it is the lone women’s prison in
the country.

Davao Penal Colony

Davao Penal Colony in Southern Mindanao was established in January 21,

1932 under Act No. 3732. Retired General Paulino Santos, the incumbent Prison
Director at that time led the first contingent of prisoners that opened the colony
which covers an area of about 18,000 hectares.
Presently it houses minimum and medium-security prisoners. It has
become the largest source of revenue for the Bureau of Prisons (BUCOR)
because of its biggest abaca plantation and major banana producer through joint
venture with Tagum Development Company (TADECO).
It has two sub-colonies namely Panabo and Kapalong with each under a
penal supervisor. It has also a settlement site called Tanglaw settlement.
Products: Banana, rice, abaca, copra, cattle and other farm products.

New Bilibid Prison

Owing to the increasing number of committals to the Old Bilibid Prison in

Manila, the New Bilibid Prison was established in 1935 in a southern suburb of
Muntinlupa, Rizal in a 552 hectare land. The old prison was transformed into a
receiving center and as a storage facility for farm produce coming from the
colonies. It is presently abandoned and under the jurisdiction of the Public
Estates Authority.
It houses maximum, medium and minimum-security prisoners and has
three satellite prisons namely;

 Camp Bukang Liwayway – minimum security

 Camp Sampaguita – Medium Security
 Reception and Diagnostic Center
 The Reception and Diagnostic Center receives newly committed prisoners
coming mainly from jails nationwide except those committed by courts within the
jurisdiction of Zamboanga provinces, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi since prisoners
from these areas are brought to San Ramon Prison and penal Farm which has its
own RDC and also the CIW has its own RDC.

Sabalayan Prison and Penal Farm

After the American regime, two more penal institutions were established.
These were Sablayan Prison and penal farm in Occidental Mindoro under
Proclamation No. 72 issued on September 27, 1954. The penal colony is
designed for minimum-security prisoners. The principal activity of prisoners is
agricultural and rice is its main product which also supplies rice needs of NBP.
Product: Rice is the main product.

Leyte Regional Prison

Leyte Regional Prison under Proclamation No. 1101 issued on January 16,
1973 in Abuyog, Leyte.

National Training School for Boys and Marillac Hills

The National Training School for Boys is presently located at Barangay

Sampaloc, Tanay Rizal which houses male juvenile offenders and the Marillac
Hills (National Training School for Girls at Alabang, Muntinlupa City for female
juvenile offenders. They provide CICL with therapy, counseling, non-formal
education and vocational skills training.

Provincial Jail System

The Provincial Jail System was first established in 1910 under the American
Regime. Every provinces of the country are mandated by the American colonizers to
establish their own provincial jails under their own supervision and control.

BJMP
The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology was created pursuant to Republic
Act 6975 signed on December 13, 1990 and became jnown as the DILG Act of 1990.