CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Background of the Study

“Recovery is not for people who needs it, it’s for people
who wants it”.

Anonymous

For more than 200 years, prison reformers have been

trying to rehabilitate criminals and reduce recidivism. In

1764, Cesare Beccaria wrote on Crimes and Punishment,

ushering in a new era in corrections. Criminal justice,

Beccaria reasoned, should not punish, it must also be

producing a better society. His proposal was founded on the

simple notion of deterrence and social sanitation.After

Beccaria, the idea that the judicious use of punishment

could reform criminals and improve society grew rapidly.

In the late 18th century, English liberals John Howard

and Jeremy Bentham worked vigorously for a prison system

that was humane and effective. The writings of John

Howard,TheState of the Prisons in England and Wales (1777)

condemned the lack of basic care given to English inmates

awaiting trial or serving sentences. The consequence was a

 The Problem 2

series of laws that improved prison conditions and attempted

to establish reformist principle (Manwong, 2014).

England

According to House of Commons (2017) there were 84,674

adults in prison in England and Wales in 2016–17, between

10% and 90% of whom are thought to have mental health

issues. Rates of self-inflicted deaths and self-harm in

prisons have risen significantly in the last five years,

suggesting that mental health and overall well-being in

prison has declined.

Prisoners with mental health issues face huge

challenges in our prison system which witnesses told us that

the current prison environment is often ill equipped to deal

with. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is

responsible for the management and operation of prisons in

England and Wales and ensuring that the prison environment

is safe, secure and decent. The Ministry of Justice is

responsible for prison policy and commissioning services in

prisons. (p.4).

India

According to Mathur (2016) securing justice is riddled

with difficulties from the very start for the ordinary

 The Problem 3

Indian. From getting a FIR registered to going to a lower

court which takes its own time to decide cases and maybe

even the High Court or Supreme Court in case of

dissatisfaction, means a case can take years to decide.

According to official figures, there are more than 27

million legal cases pending in various courts in India, 6

million of which have been stuck in courts for 5 years or

more. There is one judge for every 73,000 people in India,

seven times worse than the United States(para 3-4).

Burma

In Burma, the issue of torture and other cruel,

inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment is one that

has been covered extensively, both in the international

human rights community and domestically. The widespread use

of torture as a means of punishment within Burmese prisons

since the 2010 elections is well documented and has been

covered extensively elsewhere. As we have already seen,

overcrowding can, in some serious cases, constitute a form

of inhumane and degrading treatment(Assistance Association

for Political Prisoners, 2016, p.31).

 The Problem 4

Thailand

Thailand's prisons fail to meet international standards

with inmates routinely shackled, beaten, and stuffed into

overcrowded cells, an international human rights group said.

Thailand also has the highest incarceration rate in

Southeast Asia, jailing 425 out of every 100,000 people,

according to the report by the International Federation for

Human Rights.

More than 260,000 inmates are incarcerated in 148

prisons with an originally estimated capacity of less than

120,000, the report said, with the massive overcrowding

forcing inmates to live in harsh conditions (Affiliated

Press News Agency, 2017).

Australia

According to Woodhead (2016) Australia’s prisons are

hotspots for chronic disease and mental health problems, a

new report from the Australian Institute of Health and

Welfare shows.

Almost one-third (30%) of new prisoners have a chronic

health condition or disability that affects their daily

activities and their participation in education or

employment.
 The Problem 5

Philippines

Diamante (2010) noted that prisoners and detainees in the

Philippines suffer more than they have to mainly because

society believes that they should suffer for offenses

committed personally or in connivance with others. Prisoners

are regarded undeserving of concern and protection.

The prevalent apathy of society has tolerated the sorry

plight of prisoners manifested in the following:

Subhuman living conditions. Inadequate daily food

allowance, beds, toilets, and other sanitary facilities,

lack of basic services.

Human rights violation. Solitary confinement is still

practiced; corporal punishment prevalent. Prisoners are

subjected to other acts of humiliation that clearly violate

their human rights.

Slow judicial process. Many suspects, not yet found

guilty, are already detained while waiting hearings and

sentence that take months and years. The injustice is

greater when they are found not guilty as charged.

Lack of rehabilitation and intervention program. Penal

institutions suffer from perennial inadequate budget and

lack of funds.
 The Problem 6

Failure to provide facilities, and services for prisoners

with special needs. The mentally ill, the handicapped, the

very young, the very old, and the sick are neglected in this

regard (pp. 15-16).

Zamboanga City

An unnamed prisoner died in a Zamboanga City due to

rising temperatures and cramped conditions in the jail where

60 inmates are squeezed together in a facility made for 20.

According to a "State of the Nation with Jessica Soho"

report aired Friday night, data given by the Bureau of Jail

Management and Penology (BJMP) suggests the prisoner may

just be the first of many. While the National Building Code

states that an inmate must have 4.7 sq. m. as personal

space, 76,000 inmates are only given 93,000 sq. m. for their

living space, meaning four inmates are constrained in a

single cell (Takumi, 2015).

Manila

According to Stein (2017) in the Philippine capital of

Manila, inmates at this desperately overcrowded remand

 The Problem 7

prison pray for the small things. That, it won't rain, that

they can buy some food to supplement meagre rations, that

the case against them will soon be heard in court.

Any downpour in Quezon City Jail means precious places

to sleep in the open air will be lost. Spaces are bought and

sold here — but the simple reality is that the state-

sanctioned war on drugs means there just isn't enough room.

Quezon City Jail was built to house 262 inmates but

there were 3,095. The prison is bursting at the seams. About

70 per cent of inmates are here for drug offences — swept up

in President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.

BiñanCity Jail in Laguna

According to the report of Takumi (2017) seventy-four

prisoners have died at the BiñanCity Jail since January due

to various complications caused by congestion, according to

a report by UnangBalita, a local news agency.

The report quoted authorities as saying around 400

prisoners are currently squeezed into the jail facility that

can only accommodate as much as 70 people.

According to 2015 data of the Bureau of Jail Management

and Penology (BJMP), the BiñanCity Jail has an ideal

 The Problem 8

capacity of 22 prisoners but has a total jail population of

369 or with a congestion rate of 1,575 percent.

Teresa District Jail in Rizal

In 2018, an ABS-CBN News reported that jail officials

confirmed that 8 inmates at Teresa District Jail in Rizal

have been diagnosed with tuberculosis.

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology said the

facility can only carry 80 inmates but the number of

prisoners there already reached 615, bringing the congestion

rate to 1,094%. Only a thin wall stands between the inmates

with TB and the others. Hygiene, health and ventilation have

been a cause for concern inside the district jail.

Police Custodial Facilities in CALABARZON

According to Pelayo (2017) the number of detainees dying

in police custodial facilities in CALABARZON Region this

year is continuously increasing as a result of jail

congestion.

Police Region 4-A PIO Chief PSupt. ChitadelGaoiran said

that from January of this year, they have recorded 59 deaths

already. Many of the fatalities were from the province of

Cavite, Batangas and Rizal. In line with this, the PNP

 The Problem 9

CALABARZON has asked support from governmentofficials to

resolve the congestion in jails across the region.

Figure 1 presents the map of the Bureau of Jail

Management and Penology District Jail in Santa Cruz, Laguna.

Figure 1. Map of BJMP District Jail in Santa Cruz, Laguna

This study was conducted in the Bureau of Jail Management

and Penology District Jail in Santa Cruz, Laguna. The said

facility has a total land area of 1,500 square meter and

comprises a total number of 291 inmates composed of 33

females and 258 males. It is located at Barangay Calios, one

of the twenty-six (26) urban barangays in the municipality

of Santa Cruz in the province of Laguna.

 The Problem 10

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology was created on

January 2, 1991 pursuant to Republic Act 6975, replacing its

forerunner, the Office of Jail Management and Penology of

the defunct Philippine Constabulary/Integrated National

Police. The BJMP has jurisdiction over all district, city

and municipal jails. It is a line bureau of the Department

of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

As such, it shall ensure the establishment of secured,

clean, adequately equipped and sanitary facilities and

provisions of quality services for the custody, safekeeping

and development of district, city and municipal inmates, any

fugitive from justice, or person detained, awaiting or

undergoing investigation or trial and/or transfer to the

National Penitentiary, and/or violent mentally ill person

who endangers him/herself or the safety of others as

certified by the proper medical health officer, pending

transfer to a mental institution(Bureau of Jail Management

and Penology Manual, 2007, p. 1).

Rationale
 The Problem 11

In view of the foregoing, the researcher found that

there is a need to conduct a study with regard to the

assessment of the services of the Bureau of Jail Management

and Penology District Jail in Santa Cruz, Laguna as basis

for formulating an action plan that would address the

problems that would identified.

This motivated and interested the researcher, a

criminology student and presently residing in the

Municipality of Santa Cruz to conduct a study on the

assessment of the services of the said bureau, hoping that

in his own little way, he could help to the jail authorities

in determining on what areas of concerns they need to focus

and improve.

Significance of the Study

This study is believed to be beneficial to the below-

mentioned beneficiaries arranged significantly according to

the degree of the study’s impact.

Persons Deprived of their Liberty (PDLs)

Persons deprived of their liberty will also benefit in

the conduct of this research in a way that they will be

informed that such services must be put into practiced by

 The Problem 12

the Bureau for their development as well as reintegration

for them to be prepared after the service of their sentence.

Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)

The result of this study will serve as an appraisal on

the efficiency of the whole Bureau of Jail Management and

Penology District Jail in Santa Cruz, Laguna in terms of the

level of implementation of their services. Through this

study, they will also be guided on what areas of concerns

they need to focus and improve.

The Community

This study will spawn knowledge to the community about

what existing services, particularly matters which would

rehabilitate criminal offenders. They will also be conscious

on the quality of services that the Bureau provides for the

development of every PDLs. It is the hope of the researcher

that the community could do its share in the rehabilitation

and reintegration of the PDLs.

The Researcher

The research per se will also benefit in the conduct of

this study for he will be able to acquire new knowledge that

would open other horizon in his field of research interest.

Future Researchers
 The Problem 13

This study will aid future researchers by giving a

better grasp and understanding regarding the subject matter

of this research and will also serve as a source of valuable

information.

Legal Basis

This study is anchored on Chapter 2, Rule XV, Section 3

of the revisedBureau of Jail Management and Penology

Manual(2007) which emphasized the Inmates Welfare and

Development Program. It is a set of physical, psychological,

intellectual, vocational and spiritual activities or

intervention that facilitates inmate’s wellbeing and

enhancement in accordance with the accepted social norms and

ethical standards.

Inmate Welfare and Development (IWD) services and

activities consist of; Provision for Basic Needs; Health

Services; Livelihood Services; Educational Services; Sports

& Recreation Services; Visitation Services; Paralegal

Services, and Religious Services.

Theoretical Framework

The study was anchored from the following theories

whichguided the researcher in the conduct of his research.

Rehabilitation Theory
 The Problem 14

According to Harris (2006) as cited by Miriti and

Kimani (2017), rehabilitation theory states that the

objective of the incarceration is to reform criminals, the

idea behind this theory is that no one is born a criminal

this is a product of the social, economic and environmental

conditions it is believed that if the offenders are nurtured

through imparting them with appropriate skills and training

they have well in the community, rehabilitation theory is

proved to be successive in cases of all categories of

prisoners with a goal to prevent future crime in giving

offenders the ability to succeed within the confines of law

(p. 61).

The Reformative Theory

According to this theory, the object of punishment

should be the reform of the criminal, through the method of

individualization. It is based on the humanistic

principle that even if an offender commits a crime, he

does not cease to be a human being. He may have committed a

crime under circumstances which might never occur again.

Therefore, an effort should be made to reform him during the

period of his incarceration(Priya, 2014).

Theory of Theological Reflection

 The Problem 15

According to Trokan (2013) theological reflection

describes the process of learning directly from our

experience. As an intentional and systematic activity in the

classroom as well as through personal assignments, it

attempts to enable individuals to discover God's presence in

their experience, the difference God's presence makes in

their lives, and what God expects as a result. Theological

reflection therefore may confirm, challenge, clarify, and

expand how we understand our experience and how we

understand the religious tradition. The outcome is new truth

and meaning for living.

Conceptual Framework

The following concepts guided the researcher in the

conduct of his study.

Inmate Welfare and Development Program (IWDP)

An Inmate Welfare and Development Program (IWDP) is a

set of physical, psychological, intellectual, vocational and

spiritual activities or intervention that facilitate

inmate’s wellbeing and enhancement in accordance with the

accepted social norms and ethical standards (Section 3,

Revised BJMP Manual, 2007).

Health Services
 The Problem 16

These services are concerned with the maintenance of

physical and mental well-being (Section 3, Revised BJMP

Manual, 2007).

Livelihood Services

These services are concerned with the development of

work values, individual worth and dignity, emotional

catharsis and enhancement of individual creativity (Section

3, Revised BJMP Manual, 2007).

Paralegal Services

These servicesare concerned with the speedy disposition

of cases (Section 3, Revised BJMP Manual, 2007).

INDEPENDENT
Research VARIABLES
Paradigm
1. Implementation of the
Bureau Figure
of Jail2 Management
presents the paradigm of the study which shows
and Penology District Jail
inthe process
Santa Cruz,ofLaguna
this study.
in
terms of InmateWelfare and
Development Program (IWDP)
as to:
1.1. Health Services;
1.2. Livelihood
Services; and
1.3. Paralegal
Services. DEPENDENT VARIABLE
Services of the Bureau of Jail
2. Significant difference on Management and Penology
the level of implementation District Jail in Santa Cruz,
as perceived by the two (2)
groups of respondents as to
the aforementioned
variables.

3. Issues and/or concerns

encountered by the two (2)
groups of respondents as to
the aforementioned
variables.
 The Problem 17

Action plan to address

the problems encountered

MODERATOR VARIABLES
1. Groups:
First Group (Implementors)
a. BJMP Personnel
Second Group (Stakeholders)
b. Persons Deprived of
Liberty (PDL)
2. Year:
2018

Figure 2. Paradigm of the Study

The dependent variable which the researcher tries to

measure pertains to the assessment of the services of the

BJMP District Jail in Santa Cruz, Laguna to the Persons

Deprived of their Liberty (PDL) in the aforementioned

facilitywas analyzed by the established independent

variables such as the level of implementation of the Inmate

 The Problem 18

Welfare and Development Program (IWDP) in terms of health

services, paralegal services and livelihood

services;significant difference in the level of

implementation as perceived by the two (2) groups of

respondents as to the aforementioned variables; and the

issues and/or concerns encountered by the two groups of

respondents. The independent variable shall be established

by the way the moderator variables perceived particularly

the BJMP personnel and PDLs.

Statement of the Problems and Hypothesis

The study focused on the assessment of the Bureau of Jail

Management and Penology services to the Persons Deprived of

their Liberty (PDL) in Santa Cruz, Laguna.

Specifically, this study sought to answer the following

questions:
 The Problem 19

1. What is the level of implementation of the Bureau of Jail

Management and Penology District Jail in Santa Cruz,

Laguna in terms of Inmate Welfare and Development

Program(IWDP) as to:

1.1. Health Services;

1.2. Livelihood Services; and

1.3. Paralegal Services?

2. Is there significant difference on the level of

implementation as perceived by the two (2) groups of

respondents as to the aforementioned variables?

Hypothesis: There is no significant difference in the

level of implementation as perceived by the two (2) groups

of respondents as to the above-mentioned variables.

3. What are the issues and/or concerns encountered by the

two (2) groups of respondents as to the aforementioned

variables?

Operational Definition of Terms

For clarity and better understanding of the study, the

following terms are defined.

Persons Deprived of Their Liberty (PDL) – are detainees

who are incarcerated with pending trials and/or final

 The Problem 20

judgement. It includes all persons who are arrested,

detained, imprisoned or otherwise under custody of

government authorities.

Inmate - is the generic term used to refer to a

detainee or prisoner.

Provision for Basic Needs - This includes subsistence

such as food, clothing, hygienic supplies, etc.

Educational Services - These services/activities are

concerned mainly with literacy development.

Visitation Services- These services/activities are

concerned with the promotion of moral and social supports to

the inmates.

Religious Services - These services/activities are

concerned with the upliftment of moral and spiritual values.