INSTITUTIONAL BASED

CORRECTION
MODULE 3

ENCILAY, MARK ADRIAN CA 200 (D)

LESSON 3:

 Study on institutional agencies in the Philippines, Code

of Kalantiaw, Bilibid Prison, San Ramon Prison and Penal
Farm, Iwahig Penal Colony, Correctional Institute for
Women, New Bilibid Prison, Davao Penal Colony,
Sablayan Penal Farm, Leyte Regional Prison, Provincial
Jail System, and Public Attorney’s Office (PAO)
 Institutional Agency of Philippines

CONCISE HISTORY OF THE BUREAU OF

CORRECTIONS

• Corrections in the Philippines started during pre-colonial

times. It was however organized on individual
community basis. It was only during the Spanish regime
when an organized corrective service was made
operational.
WHEN THE AMERICANS TOOK OVER IN
THE 1900s, THE BUREAU OF PRISONS WAS
CREATED UNDER THE RE-ORGANIZATION
ACT OF 1905 (Act No. 1407 dated
November 1, 1905)
 CODE OF KALANTIAW

ARTICLE I

• You shall not kill, neither shall you steal, neither

shall you do harm to the aged, lest you incur the
danger of death. All those who infringe this order
shall be condemned to death by being drowned in
the river, or in boiling water.
ARTICLE II

• You shall obey. Let all your debts with the

headman be met punctually. He who does not
obey shall receive for the first time one hundred
lashes. If the debt is large, he shall be condemned
to thrust his hand in boiling water thrice. For the
second time, he shall be beaten to death.
ARTICLE III

• Obey you: let no one have women that are very young
nor more than he can support; nor be given to
excessive lust. He who does not comply with, obey,
and observe this order shall be condemned to swim
for three hours for the first time and for the second
time, to be beaten to death with sharp thorns.
ARTICLE IV

• Observe and obey; let no one disturb the quiet of

the graves. When passing by the caves and trees
where they are, give respect to them. He who does
not observe this shall be killed by ants, or beaten
to death with thorns.
ARTICLE V

• You shall obey; he who exchanges for food, let it

be always done in accordance with his word. He
who does not comply, shall be beaten for one
hour, he who repeats the offense shall be exposed
for one day among ants.
ARTICLE VI

• You shall be obliged to revere sights that are held

in respect, such as those of trees of recognized
worth and other sights. He who fails to comply
shall pay with one month's work in gold or in
honey.
ARTICLE VII

• These shall be put to death; he who kills trees of

venerable appearance; who shoot arrows at night
at old men and women; he who enters the houses
of the headmen without permission; he who kills
a shark or a streaked cayman.
ARTICLE VIII

• Slavery for a doam (a certain period of time) shall

be suffered by those who steal away the women
of the headmen; by him who keep ill-tempered
dogs that bite the headmen; by him who burns
the fields of another.
ARTICLE IX

• All these shall be beaten for two days: who sing

while traveling by night; kill the Manaul; tear the
documents belonging to the headmen; are
malicious liars; or who mock the dead.
ARTICLE X

• It is decreed an obligation; that every mother teach

secretly to her daughters’ matters pertaining to lust
and prepare them for womanhood; let not men be
cruel nor punish their women when they catch them in
the act of adultery. Whoever shall disobey shall be
killed by being cut to pieces and thrown to the
caymans.
ARTICLE XI

• These shall be burned: who by their strength or

cunning have mocked at and escaped punishment
or who have killed young boys; or try to steal
away the women of the elders
ARTICLE XII

• These shall be drowned: all who interfere with

their superiors, or their owners or masters; all
those who abuse themselves through their lust;
those who destroy their anitos (idols) by breaking
them or throwing them down.
ARTICLE XIII

• All these shall be exposed to ants for half a day:

who kill black cats during a new moon; or steal
anything from the chiefs or agorangs, however
small the object may be.
ARTICLE XIV

• These shall be made slave for life: who have

beautiful daughters and deny them to the sons of
chiefs, and with bad faith hide them away.
ARTICLE XV

• Concerning beliefs and superstitions; these shall

be beaten: who eat the diseased flesh of beasts
which they hold in respect, or the herb which they
consider good, who wound or kill the young of the
Manaul, or the white monkey.
ARTICLE XVI

• The fingers shall be cut-off: of all those who

break idols of wood and clay in their alangans
and temples; of those who destroy the daggers of
the tagalons, or break the drinking jars of the
latter.
ARTICLE XVII

• These shall be killed: who profane sites where

idols are kept, and sites where are buried the
sacred things of their diwatas and headmen. He
who performs his necessities in those places shall
be burned.
ARTICLE XVIII

• Those who do not cause these rules to be obeyed:

if they are headmen, they shall be put to death by
being stoned and crushed; and if they are
agorangs they shall be placed in rivers to be eaten
by sharks and caymans.
SEVEN INSTITUTIONAL
CORRECTION OF THE
PHILIPPINES
The New Bilibid Prison (NBP)
• The New Bilibid Prison (NBP)
in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila is the
main insular penitentiary designed to
house the prison population of
the Philippines. It is maintained by
the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor)
under the Department of Justice. As of
May 2018, the NBP housed 26,877
convicted criminals.
• In 1940, prisoners were transferred to the NBP from
the Old Bilibid Prison, also known as Carcel y Presidio
Correccional (Spanish for "Correctional Jail and
Military Prison"), in Manila. The remnants of the old
facility was used by the City of Manila as its detention
center, known today as Manila City Jail.
• The penitentiary had an initial land
area of 551 hectares (1,360 acres),
but 104 hectares (260 acres) were
transferred to a housing project of
the Department of
Justice. Additional land of the NBP
Reservation is used for the Bureau
of Corrections headquarters.
• During Japanese occupation of the
Philippines during World War II, Bilibid
was a prisoner of war and civilian
internee camp where American
soldiers and civilians were held by the
Japanese. Twelve hundred internees
and POWs were freed by the American
army on February 4, 1945, during
the Battle of Manila.
• The Old Bilibid Prison, then
known as Carcel y Presidio
Correccional (Spanish,
"Correctional Jail and Military
Prison") occupied a rectangular
piece of land that was part of the
Mayhalique Estate in the heart
of Manila.
• The old prison was established by
the Spanish colonial government
on June 25, 1865 via royal decree. It
is divided into two sections:
the Carcel, which could
accommodate 600 inmates; and
the Presidio, which could hold 527
prisoners.
SAN RAMON PRISON AND PENAL FARM
• According to historical accounts, the
San Ramon Prison was 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.
 
• During the Spanish-American War in
1898, the prisoners in San Ramon were
hastily released and the buildings
destroyed.  In 1907, the American
administration re-established the prison
farm.  In 1912, Gen. John Pershing, chief
executive of the Department of
Mindanao and Sulu, classified the
institution as a prison and penal colony
and therein confined people sentenced
by the courts under his jurisdiction.   
• Under Pershing’s supervision, several buildings with a
capacity for 600 prisoners were constructed.  After
several years, the colony became practically self-
supporting, with 75,000 coconut trees, which were
planted at the beginning of Pershing’s administration,
contributing to the colony’s self-sufficiency.   
• Aside from coconuts, rice, corn, papaya and
other crops were also cultivated. On November
1, 1905, Reorganization Act No. 1407 was
approved creating the Bureau of Prisons under
the Department of Commerce and Police,
integrating the Old Bilibid Prison, San Ramon
Penal Colony and Iwahig Penal.
• The Philippine Coconut Authority took over
management of the coconut farm from San
Ramon. In 1995, Congresswoman Maria Clara
Lobregat proposed the transfer of San Ramon
Prison to Bongiao town, in the mountainous area
of Zamboanga, to give way to a special economic
zone.
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 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,
whowould 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 hospitalparamedical 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.
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
Prison authorities were aware of the conditions that the
women prisoners had to endure. Consequently, the
transfer of the women to a separate site became
inevitable. 
• When women prisoners needed surgery, they were
operated on at the Bilibid Prison. After the operation,
they were transferred to the infirmary for
convalescence Prison authorities were aware of the
conditions that the women prisoners had to endure.
Consequently, the transfer of the women to a separate
site became inevitable. 
• 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 inmate’suse. 
• 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.
DAVAO PENAL COLONY
• The Davao Penal Colony is the first penal
settlement founded and organized
under Filipino administration. The
settlement, which originally had an area
of approximately 30,000 hectares in the
districts of Panabo and Tagum, Davao
del Norte, was formally established on
January 21, 1932 by virtue of Act No.
3732.
• The Davao Penal Colony is the first penal settlement
founded and organized under Filipino administration.
The settlement, which originally had an area of
approximately 30,000 hectares in the districts of
Panabo and Tagum, Davao del Norte, was formally
established on January 21, 1932 by virtue of Act No.
3732.
• This Act authorized the Governor-General to lease or
sell the lands, buildings and improvements in San
Ramon Prison and Iwahig Penal Colony. It also granted
authority to the Secretary of Justice to establish a new
prison and penal colony in a suitable public land. A
budget of P500,000 was allocated. Several
• Several committees were created to
pick a suitable site for the penal
settlement. In accordance with the
recommendation of these committees,
Governor Dwight Davis signed
Proclamation No. 414 on October 7,
1931, which reserved a site for the
penal colony in Davao province in
Mindanao. The site offered ideal
conditions for agricultural activities.
• During World War II, the colony
was converted into a concentration
camp where more than 1,000
Japanese internees were
committed by the Philippine-
American Armed Forces. The
Japanese were treated in
accordance with the orders of the
American commanding officer.
• On December 20, 1941, the
Japanese Imperial Forces
attacked Davao and the colony
was among the establishments
taken over by the invading army.
The entire settlement was
thrown into confusion and a
great numberof prisoners
escaped.
• Normal operations were inevitably
disturbed. November 8, 1942, a
representative of the Director of Prisons
transferred the colony and its properties to
the Japanese authorities.
• The remaining colony employees, their families and
the inmates evacuated to Iwahig where they organized
the Davao Penal Colony at Inagawan sub colony
(Palawan). The organization of the colony in exile was
authorized by virtue of Memorandum Order No. 60
dated June 28, 1943 and signed by the Director of
Prisons.
• After the liberation of the Philippines, the
colony-in-exile in Palawan returned to its old
site in Davao. A great deal of rebuilding and
repair had to be done because the war had
almost completely destroyed the colony.
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 colonist’s dormitories,
employeesquarters, guardhouse, schoolhouse,
chapel, recreation hall, and post exchange.
 
• Three sub-colonies were later organized. One is
a reservation which this day remains part of a
protected rainforest. Another is in a coastal
area. The third was used by the national
government as a   relocation site for refugees
from the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo eruption in
1991.
LEYTE REGIONAL PRISON

• The Leyte Regional Prison, situated

in Abuyog, Southern Leyte, was
established a year after the
declaration of martial law in 1972
by virtue of Presidential Decree
No. 28.
• lack of funds made the prison unable to realize its full
potential and its facilities are often below par compared
with those of other established penal farms. The LRP has
an inmate capacity of 500. It follows the same
agricultural format as the main correctional program in
addition to some rehabilitation activities. The prison
admits convicted offenders from Region VI and from the
national penitentiary in Muntinlupa.
Public Attorney’s Office (PAO)

• Is attached agency of the

Department of Justice which
provides indigent litigants
free legal assistance.
• The PAO shall be the principal law office of
the Government in extending free legal
assistance to indigent persons in criminal,
civil, labor, administrative and other quasi-
judicial cases.
• POWERS and FUNCTIONS The PAO shall independently
discharge its mandate to render, free of charge, legal
representation, assistance, and counselling to indigent
persons in criminal, civil, labor, administrative and other
quasi-judicial cases. In the exigency of the service, the PAO
may be called upon by proper government authorities to
render such service to other persons, subject to existing
laws, rules and regulations.
PAO MISSION

• The Public Attorney’s Office exists to provide the indigent

litigants, the oppressed, marginalized and underprivileged
members of the society free access to courts, judicial and
quasi-judicial agencies, by rendering legal services, counseling
and assistance in consonance with the Constitutional
mandate that “free access to courts shall not be denied to any
person by reason of poverty” in order to ensure the rule of
law, truth and social justice as components of the country’s
sustainable development.
PAO VISION

• A government agency that is God-centered and

dynamic bureaucracy that is responsive to the ever-
growing legal needs of the indigents and oppressed led
by highly competent, world- class, development-
oriented, honest, dedicated and nationalistic leaders
and lawyers.
 ADMISSION PROCEDURES
1) RECEIVING
• The New prisoner are receive either in the
RDC or in a prison and later to transfer to
the center and required to stay there for
not more than 60 days. The new prisoner
usually comes from a provincial or city jail
where he is immediately committed upon
conviction by the court. He is transfer to the
national prison escorted by guards of the
committing jails
 The following document shall be presented
accordingly by the party escorting prisoner:

1. Commitment order of the prisoner

2. Court decision of the case
3. Information filed by the city
/provincial fiscal
4. Certificate of detention
2) CHEKING OF COMMITMENT PAPERS

• On arrival at the Reception center or

prison, The receiving officer checks the
commitment paper if they are in order.
The commitment paper is in order if
they bear the signature of the judge or
To make sure if it contains the signature
of the judge or the signature of the
clerk of court and seal of the court.
3) IDENTIFICATION

• The next step is to establish the

identity of the prisoner in
order to be sure that the
person being committed is the
same person named in the
commitment order.
• The identity is established
through the picture and the
fingerprint of the prisoner
appearing on the commitment
paper and his prison number.
4) SEARCHING

• After accomplishing the above steps, the

new prisoner is frisked and his personal
things searched, weapons and other items
of contraband are confiscated and
deposited with the property custodian
Money ,watches, rings and other pieces of
jewelry are deposited with the trust fund
officer under proper recording and receipts.
5) ISSUANCE OF CLOTHES AND EQUIPMENT

From the receiving office ,the new prisoner goes to

the supply room where he receives the following:

1. Two (2) regulation uniform suits and two t- shirts

2. One blanket
3. One mat and pillow
4. One aluminumplate
5. One mosquito net
6) ASSIGNMENT TO QUARTERS

• After the prisoner is issued his

clothings and beddings he is
sent to quarantine unit .the
quarantine may be a unit of the
prison or a section of the RDC.
7) BRIEFING/ORIENTATION

• The orientation of the prisoners take place

within the first few days in the center, the
prisoner will be informed of the rules and
regulation to be observed while in the
center.
ORIENTATION PROCEDURES
1) Giving a prisoners a booklet of rules and regulation and
explaining the rules to them.

2) Conducting the group meeting of center inmates to explain

the purposes of treatment program.

3) Holding session with the chief and individual members of

the center staff to explain the basic purpose of the center
and what the inmate should do in order to profit most from
their experience.
STAFF CONFERENCE
• When the prisoner is through with all tests,
interviews and examinations, he is ready for the
staff conference, sometimes called “guidance
conference” or “case conference”. The inmate
appears before the Center’s staff in conference
to plan out with him his tentative program of
treatment and training. Every member of the
staff gives an oral summary of his findings and
his recommendation on what to do with the
prisoner pertaining to his field.
THE ADMISSSION SUMMARY

• The written reports submitted by the

staff of the center regarding their
findings on the prisoners are compiled,
and form the admission summary. The
admission summary becomes the
nucleus of the cumulative case history
of the prisoner.
TRANSFER OUT OF THE CENTER

• When the admission summary is

completed it is for warded to the
director of prison for approval of the
tentative program prepared for the
prisoner, after which the prisoner is
then transferred to the operating
institution.
THE OPERATING INSTITUTION

• The prisoner is transferred from the Reception and Diagnostic

Center to the operating institution with a tentative plan of
treatment already prepared. The stay of the prisoner in the
general service unit is a sort of orientation period for him. He
is given lectures on the rules and regulations; and he is
assigned to different work projects to afford him various
experiences which will guide him in the choice of a permanent
vocational program.
THE ADMISSION CLASSIFCATION MEETING

• The purpose of the admission classification, sometimes called

initial classification meeting, is to plan a program for and with
the inmate which will be realistically directed toward his
rehabilitation. A member of the Committee, usually the case
worker summarizes the diagnostic material, which is the
Admission Summary prepared by the Reception Center, and
presents the important factors to be considered in program
planning.
RECLASSIFICATION

• The prisoner appears before the Classification

Committee periodically after his initial classification to
keep current his treatment and training program.
Because human personality and behavior are
constantly changing. Reclassification is necessary to
assure that individual needs are not overlooked, and it
must continue from the time of admission classification
until the inmate is released.
REHABILITATION SERVICES

• Purpose- to change inmates

pattern of criminal behavior and
reform them into a law abiding
and productive citizens through
the implementation of
rehabilitation in jails
THE TREATMENT PROGRAMS

• The treatment of inmates shall be

focused on the provision of
services designed to encourage
them to return to the fold of justice
and enhance their self respect
dignity and sense of responsibility
as follows :
1. Provision for basic needs of inmates b) Health services
2. Education and skills training
3. Religious services ,guidance and counselling services
4. Recreation sports, and entertainment
5. Work program ,such as livelihood projects
6. Visitation services
7. Mail services
The Philippine Correctional System has two (2)
approaches in treating criminal offenders:

a) The Institution based treatment program

and

b) Community-Based treatment program.

The institution-based has three (3) levels:

 National
 Provincial and
 Sub-provincial jails and the district, city
and municipal jails
The community-based approach has:

 Probation
 Parole
 Conditional pardon and
 Release on recognizance as mode of release.
A. Institution-Based Approach

• Presently there are three (3) Executive Departments that

supervise and control the numerous institutional facilities
nationwide, which provides incarceration and rehabilitation to
offenders. These are the;

- Department of Justice (DOJ)

- Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)
- Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
 Under the DOJ the offices that are tasked to
carry out the mission of correction rest with the;

- Bureau of Correction (BUCOR)

- Board of Pardon and Parole (BPP) and
- Parole and Probations administration(PPA)
• The BPP recommends to the president the prisoner who are
qualified for parole, pardon or other form of executive
clemency. The PPA on the other hand exercises general
supervision over all parolees and probationers and promotes
the correction and rehabilitation of offenders outside the
prison institution.

• Under the DILG are the BJMP and PLGU. The BJMP take
charge of district, City, and Municipal Jails nationwide while
the provincial jails are operated by the Provincial.
B. Community-Based Approach

• Not all convicted offenders have to serve their

sentence behind bars. Some are allowed to stay in
the community, subject to conditions imposed by
the government. They are either granted
probation, parole, conditional pardon and
recognizance.