Philippine Prison System

In the late 1980s, institutions for the confinement of convicts and the detention of those
awaiting trial included a variety of national prisons and penal farms as well as numerous small
local jails and lockups. In general, the national prisons housed more serious offenders, and
those serving short-term sentences were held in local facilities. The prison system at the
national level was supervised by the Bureau of Prisons of the Department of Justice. The bureau
was responsible for the safekeeping of prisoners and their rehabilitation through general and
moral education and technical training in industry and agriculture. The bureau also oversaw the
operation of prison agro-industries and the production of food commodities. In 1991 the newly
formed Philippine National Police took over administration of local jails.

The government maintained six correctional institutions and penal farms. The nation's largest
prison was the National Penitentiary at Muntinlupa, Rizal Province, near Manila, which also
operated the Manila City Jail. The penitentiary served as the central facility for those sentenced
to life imprisonment or long-term incarceration. It was divided into two camps to separate
those serving maximum and minimum penalties. The Correctional Institution for Women was
located in Metropolitan Manila. Combination prison and penal farms also were located in
Zamboanga City, and in Palawan, Mindoro Occidental, and in several Mindanao provinces.
Prison conditions in the Philippines were generally poor, and prison life was harsh.

Some prison inmates were eligible for parole and probation. Before serving their sentence,
felons, who were not charged with subversion or insurgency, or had not been on probation
before, could apply for probation. Probationers were required to meet with their parole officers
monthly, to avoid any further offense, and to comply with all other court-imposed conditions.
After serving an established minimum sentence, certain prisoners could apply to their parole
board for release. The board could also recommend pardon to the president for prisoners it
believed to have reformed and who presented no menace to society.

In 1991 crime still was a serious, if somewhat reduced, threat to the general peace and security
of society and was aggravated by corruption in the police and court systems. The politicization
of the military was seen as a long-term problem and the threat of a military coup remained
significant. The threat of a CPP-led takeover seemed to be receding as NPA guerrilla strength
ebbed. The socioeconomic roots of the revolutionary movement remained and promised to
make the insurgency a problem for some time to come, despite its slow decline. The
government also recognized the continuing threat posed by well-armed Filipino Muslim rebels,
although few feared a near-term resurgent Moro uprising. External security threats were not
perceived.
A series of well-researched books published in the late 1980s added immensely to the available
body of work on the Philippine communist insurgency. William Chapman's Inside the Philippine
Revolution offers unique insights on the revolutionary movement. Richard Kessler's Rebellion
and Repression in the Philippines provides a thorough review of the insurgency, especially its
social and cultural roots. Gregg Jones's Red Revolution combines discussions of the CPP's
historical development with revealing interviews with communist leaders and first-hand reports
on guerrilla commanders and political cadres in the field. Although predictably dogmatic, books
by CPP founder Jose Maria Sison--Philippine Society and Revolution and The Philippine
Revolution--present the theoretical underpinnings of the insurgency (the former appears under
his nom de guerre, Amado Guerrero). Annual updates on the progress of the communist
movement can be found in the Yearbook on International Communist Affairs.

Comprehensive studies of the Philippine military are few. Richard Kessler's Rebellion and
Repression in the Philippines provides the most thorough examination of the Armed Forces of
the Philippines and their strengths and weaknesses. The history of Philippine civil-military
relations is explored by two doctoral dissertations: Donald L. Berlin's "Prelude to Martial Law"
and Carolina Hernandez's "The Extent of Civilian Control of the Military in the Philippines."
More current information on the military's role in politics can be found in the Far Eastern
Economic Review, Asian Defence Journal, and Pacific Defence Reporter.

Standard references on military capabilities include annual editions of The Military Balance,
prepared by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and the United States Arms Control
and Disarmament Agency's World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers. Jane's Infantry
Weapons, Jane's Armour and Artillery, Jane's All the World's Aircraft, and Jane's Fighting Ships
also are useful. The military's human rights performance is reviewed annually by the Amnesty
International Report and by the United States Department of State's Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices.