TIMELINE:

PRE-COLONIAL AND SPANISH REGIMES

In the pre-colonial times, the informal prison system was community-based.
There were no national penitentiaries to speak of. The formal prison system in the
Philippines started only during the Spanish regime.

1847 1859 1865 1866 1869

Established pur- Plans for the The Royal Decree was The entire The San Ramon Pris-
suant to section construction formally issued, and facility on and Penal Farm
1708 of the Re- of the prison the Old Bilibid Prison was com- in Zamboanga City
vised Adminis- were pub- was built as the main pleted on was established to
trative Code. lished on penitentiary on Oro- confine Muslim re-
April 10,
September quieta Street in Manila, bels and recalci-
1866.
12, 1859. which became known trant political prison-
as the "Carcel y Presid- ers opposed to
io Correccional" Spanish rule.

THE AMERICAN COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT

When the American took over in the 1900’s the Bureau of Prison was created .

1904 1905 1907 1912 1915 1929 1932

The Ameri- The Bureau of The re- The area On January The Cor- The Davao
cans estab- Prison was establishment was expand- 1, 1915, the rectional Penal Colony
lished the Iu- created un- of San Ramos ed to 41,007 San Ramon Institution in Southern
hit penal set- der the reor- Prisons which hectares by Prison was for Women
ganization virtue of Ex- Mindanao
tlement (now was de- placed un- (CIW) was
Act 1905 (Act ecutive Or- was opened
Iwahig Prison stroyed during der the aus- created
No 1407 dat- the Spanish- der No. 67 pices of the under Act No.
and Penal under Act
ed November American issued by Bureau of No. 3579 to 3732.
Farm) on a 1, 1905) as am Governor
War. Prisons and provide
vast reserva- agency under Newton Gil- started re- separate
tion of 28,072 the depart- bert on Oc- ceiving pris- facilities for
hectares. ment of Com- tober 15, oners from women of-
merce and 1912. Mindanao. fenders.
Police.

TRANSFER OF BILIBID PRISON TO MUNTINLUPA

The increasing number of committals to the Old Bilibid Prison, the growing ur-
banization of Manila and the constant lobbying by conservative groups prompted
the government to plan and develop a new site for the national penitentiary,
which was to be on the outskirts of the urban center.

1935 1940 1941

Commonwealth Act No. 67 On November 15, 1940, all in- The new institution had a
was enacted, appropriating mates of the Old Bilibid Prison capacity of 3,000 prison-
one million (P1,000.000.00) pe- in Manila were transferred to ers and it was officially
named the New Bilibid
sos for the construction of a the new site.
Prison on January 22,
new national prison in the 1941.
southern suburb of Muntinlupa,
Rizal. The old prison was trans-
formed into a receiving center
and a storage facility for farm
produce from the colonies. It
was later abandoned and
is now under the jurisdiction of
the Public Estates Authority.

DEVELOPMENTS AFTER WORLD WAR II

After World War II, there was a surplus of steel matting in the inventory and it was used to
improve the security fences of the prison.

Late
1941 1954 1970’s 1973 1980’s
1960’S

A death cham- Under Proc- Fences were The original insti- In The Leyte The height of the
ber was con- lamation No. further rein- tution became Regional concrete wall
structed in the 72 issued on the maximum
forced with Prison fol- was increased
rear area of the September security com-
camp when concrete lowed suit and another fa-
26, 1954, the pound and
the mode of Sablayan slabs. continues to be under Proc- cility was con-
execution was Prison and so up to the lamation structed. This be-
through elec- Penal Farm in present, housing No. 1101 came known as
trocution. Occidental not only death issued on Camp Sam-
Mindoro was convicts and
January 16, paguita or the
established. inmates sen-
tenced to life 1973. Medium Security
terms, but also Camp. It was
those with nu- used as a military
merous pending
stockade during
cases, multiple
convictions and the martial law
sentences of years and the
more than 20 Minimum Security
years. Camp, whose first
site was chris-
tened "Bukang
Liwayway".

NON-OPERATIONAL
DEVELOPMENTS AFTER
NATIONAL
WORLD WAR
PRISONS
II
Fort Bonifacio, formerly known as Fort William McKinley, is a military reservation
located in Makati. It was established after the Americans came to the Philip-
pines. The prison was originally used as a detention center.

Late
1908 1968 1969 1980’s

During the American Fort Bonifacio was a After a bloody riot at During the administra-
regime, some 100 pris- prison for maximum se- the Muntinlupa facility, tion of President Di-
oners were transferred curity maximum security however, incorrigible osdado Macapagal,
from the Old Bilibid Pris- prisoners. For several prisoners from the Fort was renamed
on to Corregidor Island years, incorrigibles were Muntinlupa were Fort Andres Bonifacio.
to work under military mixed with political pris- transferred to Fort Bon- The correctional facility
authorities. The inmates oners. It was converted ifacio. was also renamed Fort
were transported not to into a prison exclusively Bonifacio Prison. The
serve time but for prison for political offenders in one-story building now
labor. When the War June 30, 1968. stands on a one-
broke out, prisoners on hectare area. The Fort
CorRegidor were re- Bonifacio Prison contin-
turned to Bilibids. The ued to be a satellite
island prison was never prison of the national
reopen. The Philippine penitentiary even after
Legislature during the martial law was lifted. It
American regime was only in the late
passed Act No. 1876 1980’s that the facility
providing for the estab- was vacated by the
lishment of a prison in Bureau of Prisons.
Bontoc in Mountain
Province. The prison
was built for prisoners of
the province.

REFERENCE: