CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION FOR WOMEN

CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION FOR

WOMEN (CIW): In a report
dated January 22, 1959,
submitted to a committee
created by Administrative
Order No. 287 by the
President of the Philippines,
it was noted that “before a
separate building was
constructed especially for
women prisoners, all female
convicts were confined at the
Old Bilibid Prison on
Azcarraga St., Manila. The
male prisoners were confined in dormitories near the women’s quarters.
Because of these conditions, vocational activities of the women
prisoners were limited to embroidery. When they became ill, the women
were confined in a separate building which served as a hospital with
nurses and prison physicians. When women prisoners needed surgery,
they were operated on at the Bilibid Prison. After the operation, they
were transferred to the infirmary for convalescence.
P r i s o n a u
prisoners had to endure.
Consequently, the transfer of
the women to a separate site
became inevitable. After a
series of negotiations
started by Prison Director
Ramon Victorio, the
Philippine Legislature passed
Republic Act No. 3579 in
November, 1929. It authorized
the transfer of all women
inmates to a building in
Welfare Ville at Mandaluyong, Rizal and appropriated P60,000 for the
move.
On February 14, 1931, the women prisoners were transferred from
the Old Bilibid Prison to the building especially constructed for
them. Its old name, “Women’s Prison, was changed to “Correctional
Institution for Women.” This was in keeping with emerging trends in
penology, which emphasized correction rather than punishment. Convicts
were brought back into the social mainstream adjusted and
rehabilitated with a better outlook in life.
CIW, according to a Senate report, occupied 18 hectares. The
original structure was a one-story building which housed the office,
the brigades, mess hall, kitchen, chapel, infirmary, bathrooms and
employees’ restrooms. The building has a central courtyard with trees
and flowering plants. The prisoner’s vocational activities were
expanded to include poultry and piggery as well as cultivation of
crops, flowers and fruits. Living quarters for the institution’s
employees were later constructed in the compound. During the Japanese
occupation, the CIW, despite a drastic reduction in the number of its
employees, continued with its work. A number of female military
prisoners were also confined in the institution. They were later
freed by the U.S. Army.
After the war, the CIW resumed its normal operations. Weekly
catechism classes were introduced. A dental clinic was built. Local
telephones were installed in the guard’s quarters. The Bureau of
Public Works made major repairs on the main building and a workshop
and infirmary were constructed for the inmates use. The infirmary
during that time could accommodate around 16 patients.
In 2000, a new four-story building was constructed by the
Department of Public Works within the grounds of CIW. It eased the
growing congestion in the facility. The CIW, with a capacity for only
200 inmates, had to accommodate 1,000 inmates.