APRIL 27, 2012 DATE

NR # 2722B
REF. NO.

Solon wants to amend the law that created BuCor

The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) has only 1,328 custodial personnel to secure some 35,937 inmates in various prison facilities, or a ratio of one guard for every 81 prisoners. This gloomy situation of the countrys jail system has prompted Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy (Partylist, Bagong Henerasyon) to file House Bill 5926 creating the proposed Bureau of Corrections Act of 2011, which intends to push reforms to strengthen the Bureaus capability to achieve its mandate. There is an urgent need to resolve the age-old plight of the Bureau in terms of outdated law, inequitable personnel remuneration, obsolete facilities and equipment, organizational structure and other concerns deemed vital to their operational mandate, Herrera-Dy said. Herrera-Dy said the international standard of guard-to-inmate ratio is 1:6. BuCor will have to recruit more guards to man the increasing number of inmates in various prison camps, she said. BuCor has seven operating units located nationwide namely the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City; the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City; the CIW Mindanao in Panabo, Davao; the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan; the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro; the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City; the Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog, Leyte and the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Panabo, Davao. Herrera-Dy said the Bureau of Prison was created by virtue of the Reorganization Act 1407 in 1905. The name Bureau of Prison was changed to Bureau of Corrections pursuant to the Revised Administrative Code of 1987. There are no significant amendments to the law when it was amended in 1987 except for changing the name of the agency, Herrera-Dy said. Herrera-Dy said the inmates population in 1989 was 12,900 manned by 2,362 BuCor personnel, of which were 1,461 custodial personnel and 901 civilian employees, with a prison guard-to-inmate ratio of 1:27. Herrera-Dy said the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), which is in charge of local inmates who are under trial and convicted for 3 years and below, has about 8,976 employees manning 61,000 inmates at an approximate ratio of 1:18 and has an ongoing yearly recruitment of additional 500 jail officers as new plantilla positions since 2007 until they reach the 1:7 ratio.

APRIL 27, 2012 DATE

NR # 2722B
REF. NO.

Herrera-Dy said BuCor miserably lags behind BJMP in terms of personnel renumeration. The entry level for a Jail Officer 1 is SG-10 while a Prison Guard 1 of BuCor has a measly pay grade of five and the lowest commissioned officer of BJMP is at salary grade 22 while its BuCor counterpart is at salary grade 11, she said. Unlike the BJMP, BuCor custodial personnel are not considered uniformed personnel and not entitled to salary increases, bonus and other benefits which accorded to the personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection, National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, and the Bureau of Immigration, whose jobs are not closely exposed to high-risk criminals as compared to BuCor, Herrera-Dy said. Sadly, there are prison guards who are retiring after 40 years or more in services without having a taste of promotion, Herrera-Dy added. (30) dpt