NON – INSTITUTIONAL CORRECTION
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY BASED CORRECTION PROGRAM
CHAPTER CONTENTS
1. The Present Philippine Correctional Set-Up
2. Community-Based Correction Programs in the
Philippines
3. Advantage of Community Based Correction
Programs
4. The role of Community Corrections in the
Criminal Justice System
5. Basic Principles Underlying the Philosophy of
Community-Based Treatment Programs
6. Subject coverage
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
At the end of the chapter, students should be able to:
1. Define correction and identify its role as
component of criminal justice system.
2. Illustrate and understand the present Philippine
correctional set-up.
3. Define community-based correction.
4. Differentiate and compare institutional correction
to community based correction program.
5. Identify the advantages of community based
correction program and explain its role in the
criminal justice system.
6. Identify and justify the basic principles underlying
the philosophy of community based-treatment
programs.
7. Enumerates and differentiates the forms of
community based correction program.
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I. THE PRESENT PHILIPPINE CORRECTIONAL
SET-UP
A. WHAT IS CORRECTION?
Correction is the branch of the administration of
Criminal Justice System (CJS) charged with the
responsibility for the custody, supervision and
rehabilitation of convicted offenders. It is also define as
the STUDY OF JAIL OR PRISON MANAGEMENT
AND ADMINISTRATION as well as the rehabilitation
and reformation of criminals.
Further, it is define as a GENERIC TERM that
includes all government agencies, facilities, programs,
procedures, personnel, and techniques concerned with the
investigation, intake, custody, confinement, supervision, or
treatment of alleged offenders.
B. DUAL PURPOSE OF CORRECTIONS
1. To punish and
2. To rehabilitate the offender.
C. THE CORRECTIONS AS A COMPONENT OF
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Correction is the fourth pillar of the PCJS, and
identified as the weakest pillar. As a field of criminal
justice administration, it utilizes the body of knowledge
and practices of the government and the society in general
involving the process of handling individuals who have
been convicted of offenses for purposes of crime
prevention and control.
Among the five pillars of the criminal justice
system, corrections is the least heard, known or
understood society seems to have some reluctance to look
at it although its role in the reformation and rehabilitation
of offenders cannot be overemphasized. Furthermore, jail
administration and control in our country is distributed to
at least, four agencies:
1. The BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS (BUCOR),
under the DOJ; which has supervision over the national
penitentiary and its penal farms;
A. THE NEW BILIBID PRISON (NBP) in
Muntinlupa, Metro Manila is the main insular prison
designed to house the prison population of the Philippines.
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It is maintained by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor)
under the Department of Justice. As of October 2022, the
NBP housed 29,204 inmates, exceeding its ideal capacity
of 6,345.
B. THE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
FOR WOMEN (CIW) is a women's prison located in
Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The prison is
operated by the Bureau of Corrections.
CIW was born via the signing of Act No. 3579
on November 1929, which authorized the transfer of all-
women inmates of the Old Bilibid Prison in Manila to a
new facility. Some 270 female inmates were transferred
on February 1931 to a building in Mandaluyong (then
part of Rizal) that was initially called the Women’s Prison.
When the Philippines had the death penalty,
female inmates condemned to death were held at CIW.
Ron Gluckman of Asiaweek described the women's death
row as appearing like a secondary school
C. SABLAYAN PRISON AND PENAL
FARM: Nearer to Manila than other penal colonies, the
Sablayan Penal Colony is located in Occidental Mindoro
and relatively new. Established on September 26, 1954
by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 72, the penal
colony has a total land area of approximately 16,190
hectares.
Prison records show that the first colonists and
employees arrived in Sablayan on January 15, 1955.
Since then several buildings have been constructed,
including the colonists’ dormitories, employees’ quarters,
guardhouse, schoolhouse, chapel, recreation hall, and post
exchange.
D. IWAHIG PRISON AND PENAL FARM.
This unique “prison without bars” was established by the
Americans in 1904. The inmates tend vast farms instead
of idly spending time behind bars. The more enterprising
earn by making handicrafts and other productive activities
during their spare time. Iwahig has since become
synonymous to finely handcrafted bags and other
souvenir items.
The Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm is one of the
most popular prisons in the Philippines. It was established
in 1902 by the United States for the Filipino prisoners
who had fought with the American during their
colonization in the Philippines.
The Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm is located at
Baranggay Iwahig, Palawan and is 30 minute ride from
the province's capital, Puerto Princesa. Currently, it
houses some 4,000 inmates.
IWAHIG PENAL COLONY: This facility was
established during the American occupation. It was
however, during the Spanish regime that Puerto Princesa
was designated as a place where offenders sentenced to
banishment were exiled. A specific area of Puerto
Princesa was selected as the site for a correctional
facility. The American military carved out a prison
facility in the rain forest of Puerto Princesa. The
institution had for its first Superintendent Lt. George
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Wolfe, a member of the U.S. expeditionary force, who
later became the first prisons director.
Governor Luke Wright authorized the
establishment of a penal colony in the province of Palawan
on November 16, 1904. This penal settlement, which
originally comprised an area of 22 acres, originally served
as a depository for prisoners who could not be
accommodated at the Bilibid Prison in Manila. In 1906,
however, the Department of Commerce and Police (which
later became the Department of Public Instruction) moved
to turn the institution into the center of a penal colony
supervised in accordance with trends at the time. Through
the department’s efforts, the Philippine Commission of the
United States government passed Act No. 1723 in 1907
classifying the settlement as a penal institution.
The settlement was at first beset by attempted
escapes. But under the supervision of Col. John R. White
of the Philippine Constabulary, who would become
superintendent of Iwahig in 1906, the colony became a
successful settlement. A merit system was devised for the
prisoners and vocational activities were offered. These
included farming, fishing, forestry, carpentry, and hospital
paramedical work. Prisoners could choose the vocational
activities they wanted.
In 1955, Administrative Order No. 20 was
promulgated by the President and implemented by the
Secretary of Justice and the Secretary of Agriculture and
Natural Resources. This order allowed the distribution of
colony lands for cultivation by deserving colonists.
The order also contained a list of qualifications for
colonists who wished to apply for a lot to cultivate, the
conditions for the settler’s stay in his land, loan
requirements and marketing of the settlers’ produce. Lots
granted did not exceed six hectares.
On August 16, 1959, a committee was created by
President Carlos P. Garcia to study the state of national
prisons. Accordingly, prisoners in Iwahig were divided
into two groups: the settlers and colonists. The settlers are
those engaged in farming for their own benefit; they are
the ones whose applications for land to cultivate have been
approved. The government furnishes the land and initial
requirements for tools, dwellings and beast of burden.
They are required to reimburse expenditures incurred for
their maintenance and that of their families out of the
products of their farms. Upon their release from the colony,
they receive whatever amount of money they have credited
in their favor, after deducting the obligations they have.
Iwahig is subdivided into four zones or districts:
Central sub-colony with an area of 14,700 hectares; Sta.
Lucia with 9,685 hectares; Montible with 8,000 hectares
and Inagawan with 13,000 hectares.
Recent developments and presidential
proclamations have dramatically reduced the size of the
prison reservation of Iwahig.
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 E. LEYTE REGIONAL PRISON (LRP). The
LRP was created by virtue of P.D. No. 28 and was
established on January 16, 1973 under Presidential
Decree No. 1101.
It is located in Brgy. Mahagna, Abuyog, Leyte
some sixty-six (66) kilometers from Abuyog town proper.
It is situated on a 861.66 hectares forested area
on top of a mountain surrounded by mountain ranges. It is
also composed of two communities: the enclosed
community and the open community.
F. SAN RAMON PRISON AND PENAL
FARM. established in southern Zamboanga on August
21,1870 through a royal decree promulgated in 1869.
Established during the tenure of Governor General
Ramon Blanco (whose patron saint the prison was named
after), the facility was originally established for persons
convicted of political crimes.
Considered the oldest penal facility in the
country, prisoners in San Ramon were required to do
agricultural work.
G. DAVAO PRISON AND PENAL FARM.
Formerly the Davao Penal Colony (DaPeCol), was
established on January 21, 1932, in Panabo City, Davao
del Norte, Philippines. It has a land area of 30,000
hectares with a prison reservation of 8,000 hectares.
During World War II, the Davao Penal Colony
was the biggest prison establishment in the country which
was used by the Japanese invading army as their imperial
garrison.
On October 7, 1931, Governor Dwight Davis
signed proclamation 414 which reserved a site for Penal
Colony in Davao Province in Mindanao and on January
21, 1932, the Davao Penal Colony was formally
established under Act No. 3732. During World War II, it
was used by the Philippine-American Armed Forces
where more than 1000 Japanese were treated in
accordance with the orders of the American commanding
officer. The Japanese Imperial Army attacked Davao on
December 20, 1941, and the colony was among the
establishments that were taken over by the Imperial Army.
2. The BUREAU OF JAIL MANAGEMENT AND
PENOLOGY (BJMP), under the DILG; which has the
exclusive control over all city, municipal and district Jails
nationwide;
3. The PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS, under DILG;
which supervise and control their respective provincial
and sub-provincial Jails; and
4. The DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE
AND DEVELOPMENT (DSWD), which takes care of,
among others, youthful offenders entered in detention
centers for juveniles, aside from these,
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Other agencies under this pillar are the: (Community
Based Correction)
1. The Parole and Probation Administration (PPA) under
the Department of Justice (DOJ); and
2. The Board of Pardons and Parole also under the
Department of Justice.
NOTE: There are also LOCK-UP JAILS under the
Philippine National Police (PNP); this fragmented
administration of jails often creates confusion since many
are not aware of this set-up.
Generally, corrections, as a component of the system are
responsible for:
1. The MAINTENANCE of institution such as prisons,
jails, halfway houses, and others.
2. The PROTECTION of law-abiding members of society
by keeping convicted offenders from preying on society.
3. The REFORMATION and REHABILITATION of
offenders in preparation for their eventual reintegration to
the mainstream of society and helping them lead a normal
life after release.
4. The DETERRENCE of crimes, experience in prison
and the fear of isolation and denial of liberty will influence
inmates and potential offenders to lead a life not in conflict
or afoul with the law.
D. DECONGESTION OF JAILS
There are several laws, decrees and circulars
which we implement to decongest our jails. But before we
discuss these, allow me to show you how congested our
jails are as far as the national capital region is concerned.
Jail congestion is not a recent phenomenon, nor is
it confined in the Philippines alone. Jail congestion is
WORLDWIDE. Some industrialized countries like the
United States, experience it, let me cite a few examples:
Rikkers Island in New York is actually an island prison
facility. It is overcrowded. To cushion the effect of
congestion, two floating dormitories were constructed to
confine offenders therein; in 1995. Director General Keith
Hamburger of the Queensland services commission of
Australia reported that congestion is also a problem in his
country.
In January of 1994, in Manila, Ronald W. Nikkel,
president of prison fellowship international who had toured
some of the jails in the National Capital Region (NCR) and
the New Bilibid Prisons of the Bureau of corrections in
Municipal City observed and commented that in the 41
countries of the world he had traveled, most have a
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problem on congestion. He added that this problem is
PREVALENT IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES.
In our country, jail congestion, particularly in big cities
and municipalities, has been a PERENNIAL PROBLEM
ever since. This problem, to borrow a parallelism, is a
sleeping giant. Unfortunately, for jail administrators and
personnel, the giant has taken up and is stretching its
enormous arms and legs. OPLAN DECONGESTION
must be put in place to lay this giant back to sleep.
OPLAN DECONGESTION was formalized through the
execution of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on
February 12, 1993. Among the public attorney’s office,
the parole and probation administration, the Board of
Pardons and Parole which are all under the Department of
Justice, and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology
which is under the Department of the Interior and local
government. The avowed PURPOSE of said agreement
(MOA) was jail decongestion through collective and
cooperative efforts.
Realizing that all helps available must be
harnessed to effectively combat overcrowding or
congestion in jails, the said memorandum of agreement
was EXPANDED on August 17, 1993 with the inclusion
of the National Prosecution service or (NAPROS) as the
fifth party thereto.
True to its form, the MOA spreads up its intent
through seminars. These offered opportunities to officials
and personnel of the tasked agencies to familiarize
themselves with the mechanics of the agreement, as well
as to offer avenue to discuss various aspects of how jails
are to be decongested.
E. LAW AND DECREES USUALLY AVAILED OF
TO DECONGEST JAILS
1. Presidential Decree No. 603, known as the child and
youth welfare code, suspends sentence of minor offenders
whose ages range from nine (9) years to under eighteen
(18) years and place them in rehabilitation centers under
the supervision of the Department of Social Welfare and
Development before they are released to the custody of
their parents or to any responsible person.
2. Batas Pambansa Bilang 85, authorizes the release of a
detainee who has undergone preventive imprisonment
equivalent to the maximum imposable sentence for the
offense he is charged with.
3. Article 96 of the Revised Penal Code, provides that in
meritorious cases, the commutation of the prisoner’s
sentence through presidential action shall be upon the
recommendation of the court which imposed the same;
and ARTICLE 97, which provides that a prisoner shall be
entitled to a deduction from his prison term for good
conduct.
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4. DOJ Memorandum Circular No. 6 which directs all
wardens or anyone in-charge of local jails to effect the
immediate transfer of national prisoners to the Bureau of
corrections.
5. Republic Act No. 9165 - Comprehensive Dangerous
Drug Act of 2002 (July 4, 2002)
6. Republic Act No. 9344 – Juvenile & Justice welfare
Act of 2006 (May)
7. Republic Act No. 6036, known as the release on
recognizance law, provides for the release of offenders
charged with an offense whose penalty is not more than six
(6) months and/or a fine of Two Thousand pesos (2,000) or
both, to the custody of a responsible person in the
community, instead of a bail bond;
8. Republic Act No. 6127, fully deducts the period of the
offenders’ preventive detention from the sentence imposed
by the courts;
9. Republic Act No. 4103, as amended, creating the Board
of Pardons and Parole tasked to look into the physical,
mental and moral record of prisoners to determine who
shall be eligible for parole or conditional pardon.
10. Presidential Decree No. 968 July 24, 1976 is the
Philippine Probation Law of 1976. Probation is, of course,
a very important legal instrument that contributes to the
decongestion of Philippine jails.
F. APPROACHES OF PHILIPPINE
CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM
The Philippine Correctional System has two
approaches, and these are, the Community based and
institution-based systems.
1. The Institution-Based Approach -The rehabilitation of
offenders in jail or prison.
The institution-based approaches has three levels
and are manned by three different government agencies
responsible for the supervision and control of the
numerous institutional facilities nationwide which provide
safekeeping and rehabilitation of inmates, namely:
A. The national prison’s and penal farms under
the Department of justice;
B. The provincial and sub-provincial jails under
the provincial government; and
C. The City, Municipal and District Jails under
the Department of Interior and Local Government.
The Bureau of corrections, headed by a non-
uniformed director, under the department of Justice,
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supervises and controls the national prisons and penal
farms.
2. Non-Institutional Correction or Community-Based
Approach - It refers to correctional activities that may
take place within the community or the method of
correcting sentenced offenders without having to go to
prison.
Not all convicted offenders have to serve their
sentence behind bars. Some of them are allowed to stay in
the community, subject to the conditions imposed by the
court.
They are either granted probation, parole,
conditional pardon or recognizance. The parole and
probation Administration under the Department of Justice
is the government agency that supervises the activities of
the probationer, parolee and pardonee and monitors his
compliance with conditions imposed.
What is a Community Correction?
It is a sanction in which offenders serve some
or all their sentence in the community. It is sometimes
referred to as non-institutional corrections. The sub
field of corrections in which offenders are supervised
and provided services outside jail or prison.
DISTINCTION BETWEEN INSTITUTIONAL AND
NON-INSTITUTIONAL CORRECTION
Institutional Non-Institutional
Many criminologists believed a significant number of
offenders did not need incarceration in high security prison
cells.
Some inmates, who might otherwise have been
ready to turn away from a life of crime, instead became
like the hardened criminals they associated with in prison.
In response, states, counties, and cities established local
correctional facilities and programs that became known as
community-based corrections. These facilities, located in
neighborhoods, allowed offenders normal family
relationships and friendships as well as rehabilitation
services such as counseling, instruction in basic living
skills, how to apply for jobs, and work training and
placement.
III . ADVANTAGES OF COMMUNITY BASED
CORRECTION
1. Family members need not be victims also for the
imprisonment of a member because the convict can still
continue to support his family.
2. Rehabilitation will be more effective as the convict will
not be exposed to hardened criminals in prisons who will
only influence him to a life of crime.
3. Rehabilitation can be monitored by the community thus
corrections can be made and be more effective.
4. It is less costly on the part of the government. Cost of
incarcerations will be eliminated which is extremely
beneficial on the part of the government.

That aspect of the
correctional enterprise that
involves the incarceration
and rehabilitation of adults
and juveniles convicted of
offenses against the law,
and the confinement of
persons suspected of a
crime awaiting trial and
adjudication.
That aspect of the IV. THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS
correctional enterprise that IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
includes pardon, probation,
and parole activities, Community sentence seeks to repair the harm
correctional administration the offender has caused the victim or the Community,
not directly connectable to provide for public safety and rehabilitate and promote
institutions, and effective reintegration.
miscellaneous (activity) not
directly related to A community correction has traditionally
institutional care. emphasized REHABILITATION as its goal. The staff of
community correctional programs has two potentially
competing roles that reflect different goals:

a. Seeing that offenders comply with the orders of

community sentences.
II. COMMUNITY-BASED CORRECTION b. Helping offenders identify and address their
PROGRAMS IN THE PHILIPPINES problems and needs.

The Community-Based Treatment Programs are

those programs that are intended to treat criminal V. BASIC PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING THE
offenders within the free community as alternatives to PHILOSOPHY OF COMMUNITY-BASED
confinement. It includes all correctional activities directly TREATMENT PROGRAMS
addressed to the offender and aimed at helping him to
become a law abiding citizen. The following are the basic principles underlying the
Community-based correction programs began in philosophy of community-based treatment programs:
the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The programs offer an
alternative to incarceration within the prison system.

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1. Humanitarian Aspect - Imprisonment is not always
advisable. Placing a person to custodial coercion is to
place him in physical jeopardy, thus drastically narrowing
his access to sources of personal satisfaction and reducing
his self-esteem.
2. Restorative Aspect - There are measures expected to
be achieved by the offender, such as an establishment of a
position in the community in which he does not violate
the laws. These measures may be directed at changing
and controlling the offender. The failure of the offender
to achieve these can result to recidivism.
Recidivism refers to a person’s relapse into
criminal behavior, often after the person receives
sanctions or undergoes intervention for a previous crime.
It is measured by criminal acts that resulted in rearrest,
reconviction or return to prison with or without a new
sentence during a three-year period following the
person’s release.
3. Managerial Aspect - Managerial skills are special
importance because of the sharp contrast between the per
capital cost of custody and any kind of community
program. It is easier to manage those undergoing
community based treatment programs than that of
custodial control.
VI. SUBJECT COVERAGE
1. Probation - One of the most common forms of
community correction is probation. Probation can be
thought of as a type of post-trial diversion from
incarceration. A term coined by John Augustus, from the
Latin verb “probare”- to prove, to test.
It is a disposition under which a defendant after
conviction of an offense, the penalty of which does not
exceed 6 years of imprisonment, is released subject to the
conditions imposed by the releasing court and under the
supervision of a probation officer.
Furthermore, it is define as a sentence in which
the offender, rather than being incarcerated, is retained in
the community under the supervision of a probation
agency and required to abide by certain rules and
conditions to avoid incarceration.
2. Diversion – For juvenile offender or CICL
3. Restitution - In recent years it has become
increasingly common for jurisdictions to include
restitution orders as part of probation.
Money paid or services provided to victims,
their survivors, or to the community by a convicted
offender to make up for the injury inflicted.
4. Halfway houses - Community-based residential
facilities that are less secure and restrictive than prison or
jail but provide a more controlled environment than other
community correctional programs.
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Goal of Halfway House: The goal of halfway houses is
to provide offenders with a temporary period of highly
structured and supportive living so that they will be better
prepared to function independently in the community upon
discharge.
What is home Confinement? It is a program that requires
offenders to remain in their homes except for approved
periods of absence; commonly used in combination with
electronic monitoring. Home confinement is also known
as home incarceration, home detention, and house arrest.
OTHER ASPECTS OF CORRECTIONS
1. Parole - It is the process of suspending the sentence of a
convict after having serve the minimum of his sentence
without granting him pardon, and the prescribing term
upon which the sentence shall be suspended.
2. Executive Clemency
It shall refer to Absolute Pardon, Conditional
Pardon with or without Parole conditions and
Commutation of Sentence as may be granted by the
President of the Philippines upon the recommendation of
the Board of Pardon and Parole.
a. Pardon It is a form of executive clemency
granted by the President of the Philippines as a privilege to
a convict as a discretionary act of grace. It is an act of
grace extended to prisoners as a matter of right, vested to
the Chief Executive (The President) as a matter of power.
Neither the legislative nor the judiciary branch of the
government has the power to set conditions or establish
procedures for the exercise of this Presidential prerogative.
The following are the two types of pardon:
1. Absolute Pardon-It refers to the total extinction of the
criminal liability of the individual to whom it is granted
without any condition whatsoever and restores to the
individual his civil rights and remits the penalty imposed
for the particular offense of which he was convicted.
Purpose:
a. To right a wrong
b.To normalize a tumultuous political situation.
Absolute Pardon is also granted by a President to an
imprisoned president the incumbent has deposed. Absolute
Pardon is granted in order to restore full political and civil
rights to convicted persons who have already served their
sentenced and have reached the prescribed period for the
grant of Absolute Pardon.
2. Conditional Pardon - It refers to the exemption of an
individual, within certain limits or conditions; from the
punishment that the law inflicts for the offense he has
committed resulting in the partial extinction of his criminal
liability.
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 It is also granted by the President of the
Philippines to release an inmate who has been reformed
but is not eligible to be released on parole.
b. Amnesty - A general pardon extended to a
group of persons, such a political offenders purposely to
bring about the return of dissidents to their home and to
restore peace and order in the community.
c. Commutation of Sentence - An act of the president
changing/ reducing a heavier sentence to a lighter one or
a longer term into a shorter term. It may alter death
sentence to life sentence or life sentence to a term of
years. It does not forgive the offender but merely to
reduce the penalty pronounce by the court.
d. Reprieve - A temporary stay of the execution of
sentence especially the execution of the death sentence.
Generally, Reprieve is extended to prisoners sentenced to
death.
The date of execution of sentenced is set back
several days to enable the Chief to study the petition of
the condemned man for commutation of sentenced or
pardon.
EARLY FORMS OF PUNISHMENT
Society is judged by how it treats its prisoners
and that the methods employed in the past were harsh in
terms of treatment of its prisoners. For those living in the
twentieth century, it may be difficult to envision the
savage treatment of offenders in the past. The absence of
Prison and Jails or even courts and trials to hear the side
of the offenders is difficult in order to achieve fair
judgment. Since everything from clothing to child-rearing
has changed with the times, so has our concept of “cruel
and unusual” and along with it our correctional practices.
The torture, floggings and public humiliations that
characterized “correction” of the past conflict with
today’s concept of the worth of life and human dignity.
A. BLOOD FEUDS
Ancient culture developed the idea of justice
based on vengeance, retribution and compensation. When
a crime is committed; the victim is expected to dole out
justice with his own hands. Punishment was carried out
by the victim personally, along with help provided by
one’s family. The offender will seek refuge in his family
and friends; as a result of this system, blood feuds
developed. Blood Feuds is a continuing state of conflict
between two groups within a society (typically kinship
groups) characterized by violence, usually killings and
counter killings.
B. LEX TALIONIS
Lex Talionis or Law of Retaliation, is a principle
developed in early Babylonian law and present in both
biblical and early Roman law that criminals should
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receive as punishment precisely those injuries and
damages they had inflicted upon their victims. Many early
societies applied this “eye-for-an-aye” principle literally.
C. CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
Corporal Punishment is the dispensing of bodily
harm in response to or as a deterring measure against crime.
Corporal punishments include flogging, beating, branding,
mutilation, blinding, and the use of the stock and pillory.
From ancient times through the 18th century, corporal
punishment were commonly used in those instances that
did not call for the death penalty or for exile or
transportation. But the growth of humanitarian ideals
during the Enlightenment and afterward led to the gradual
abandonment of corporal punishment, and by the later 20th
century it had been almost entirely replaced by
imprisonment or other non violent penalties.
D. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Capital punishment, often referred to as the death
penalty, has been used as a method of crime deterrence
since the earliest societies. Historical records show that
even the most ancient primitive tribes utilized methods of
punishing wrongdoers, including taking their lives, to pay
for the crimes they committed. Murder, most often
warrants this ultimate form of punishment. “A life for a
life” has been one of the most basic concepts for dealing
with crime since the start of recorded history.
Early forms of capital punishment were designed
to be slow, painful, and torturous. In some ancient cultures,
law breakers were put to death by stoning, crucifixion,
being burned at the stake, and even slowly being crushed
by elephants. Later societies found these methods to be
cruel and unusual forms of punishment, and sought out
more humane practices.
E. EXILE AND BANISHMENT
Exile and banishment is a punishment by
prolonged absence from one’s country imposed by vested
authority as a punitive measure. It most likely originated
among early civilizations from the practice of designating
an offender an outcast and depriving him of the comfort
and protection of his group.
PHILIPPINE CORRECTIONS SYSTEM
It is composed of the institutions in the
government, civil society and the business sector involved
in the confinement, correction and restoration of persons
charged for and/or convicted of delinquent acts of crimes.
The public sector formulates sound policies and rules on
corrections, penology and jail management, rehabilitation
and restoration. All prisons or penitentiaries, jails and
detention centers are under the direct control and
supervision of the government.
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 It is important to note that the Philippines
adheres to the provisions of the UN Standard Minimum
Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and UN Standard
Minimum Rules for Non-Custodial Measures (the Tokyo
Rules) and other international human rights instruments
which define and guarantee the rights of inmates.
The Philippine corrections system adopted two
approaches for treatment of offenders. These are the
Institutional-based treatment program and the
Community-based treatment programs (Non-institutional).
These programs aimed towards the improvement of
offender’s attitude and philosophy of life. Reformation
and rehabilitation of inmates as well as preparation for the
integration in the community are the ultimate goals of the
programs.
Institutional Based Correction
In the Philippines, there is a distinction between
a “jail” and “prison”. Jail is defined as a place of
confinement for inmates under investigation or
undergoing trial, or serving short-term sentences. This
includes provincial, district, city and municipal jails
managed and supervised by the Provincial Government
and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology
(BJMP), respectively, which are both under the
Department of the Interior and Local Government
(DILG). Prison on the other hand, refers to the national
prisons or penitentiaries managed and supervised by the
Bureau of Corrections, an agency under the Department
of Justice (DOJ)
Two Categories of Inmates
According to the BJMP Comprehensive
Operations Manual 2015 Edition, there are two general
categories of inmates, they are:
A. Prisoner - inmate who is convicted by final
judgment; and
B. Detainee - inmate who is undergoing
investigation/trial or awaiting final judgment.
Four Classes of Prisoners
A. Insular Prisoner - one who is sentenced to a
prison term of three (3)years and one (1) day to
reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment;
B. Provincial Prisoner - one who is sentenced
to a prison term of six (6) months and one (1)
day to three (3) years;
C. City Prisoner - one who is sentenced to a
prison term of one (1) day to three (3) years; and
D. Municipal Prisoner - one who is sentenced
to a prison term of one (1) day to six (6) months.
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Three Types of Detainees
A. Those undergoing investigation;
B. Those awaiting or undergoing trial; and
C. Those awaiting final judgment
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
The treatment of offenders and individuals who
are in conflict with the law is undertaken by the
government through the Department of Justice (DOJ),
the Department of the Interior and Local Government
(DILG) and the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD).
Department of Justice (DOJ)
The DOJ supervises the national penitentiaries
through the Bureau of Corrections, administers the parole
and probation system through the Parole and Probation
Administration, and assist the President in the grant of
executive clemency through the Board of Pardons and
Parole.
Department of the Interior and Local Government
(DILG)
The DILG, through the Bureau of Jail
Management and Penology (BJMP), supervises and
controls city, municipal and district jails. The Philippine
National Police (PNP), also under the supervision of the
DILG, manages the municipal jails that cannot yet be
supervised by the BJMP, including lock-up jails or
precinct jails that are used as temporary detention centers
for arrested individuals under investigation. The Offices of
Provincial Governor, also under the DILG, manage the
provincial jails which, by law, keep convicted offenders
with prison sentences that range from six months and one
day to three years.
Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD)
The DSWD operates and monitors rehabilitation
centers nationwide for juveniles in conflict with the law
(JICL) whose cases are still pending in court through the
Bureau of Child and Youth Welfare.
Bureau of Corrections (BuCor)
BuCor is an agency under the Department of
Justice that is charged with custody and rehabilitation of
national offenders, that is those sentenced to serve a term
of imprisonment of more that three (3) years.
8
 To carry out its mandate, the Bureau undertakes the
following:

 Safekeep prisoners convicted by courts three (3)

years and one (1) day and above to serve sentence in
prison.

 Prevent prisoners from committing crimes.

 Provide inmates basic needs.

 Ensure rehabilitation programs are made available to

the inmates for their physical, intellectual and
spiritual development.

 Develop livelihood programs to assist inmates earn a

living and develop their skills while in prison.

Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)

The BJMP was created on January 2, 1991

pursuant to Republic Act 6975, replacing its forerunner,
the Jail Management and Penology Service of the
defunct Philippine Constabulary Integrated National
Police (PC/INP). The BJMP exercises administrative
and operational jurisdiction over all district, city and
municipal jails. It is a line bureau of the Department of
the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

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 PHILIPPINE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

A person who has

violated the law is

But the case may be

Apprehended by the
LAW diverted where no
police or any law
ENFORCEMENT
PILLAR enforcement agency like
sufficient ground can R
sustain complaint against E
NBI, Narcotics group, etc
the suspect
V C
E O
R
T M
E M
But the case may be D U
Prosecuted for the diverted where no
PROSECUTION
alleged offense T N
PILLAR probable cause can
committed sustain a prosecution O I
T
T
H Y
E
P
But the case may be C
COURTS Tried before the diverted where the O I
PILLAR courts evidence is not enough for
conviction of the offender
M L
M L
U
N A
I R
In case of T
imprisonment, full Y
service of sentence;
If convicted either
diversion takes place
CORRECTIONS serves his sentence in
PILLAR through the grant of
jail or prison, or is
parole, conditional
placed on probation
pardon; probation is
by itself a diversion
process

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