PROPOSED IWAHIG PRISON AND PENAL FARM MODERNIZED INSTITUTE

BACKGROUND

1.1.1 PHILIPPINE CORRECTIONS SYSTEM

The Philippine corrections System is composed of the institution of the government, civil society
and the business sector involved in the confinement, correction and restoration of persons
charged for convicted of delinquent acts or crimes. All prisons or penitentiaries, jails and detention
are under the direct control and supervision of the government, thus plays a dominant role in the
correction and rehabilitation offenders. * (State counsel, Department of Justice, Republic of the
Philippines)

The Philippines adheres to the provision of the UN Standard minimum Rules for the Treatment of
the Prisoners (UNSMRTP) and other international human rights which define and guarantee the
rights of inmates. Some of these are already embodied by in the Philippine Constitution* (Section
2 of revised IRR of RA 10575, The Bureau of corrections act of 2013) and in its laws, rules and
regulations and ordinances.

Three major agencies are involved in the Philippine correctional system, namely the Department
of Justice (DOJ) which supervises the national penitentiaries through the Bureau of Corrections,
administers the parole and probation system through the Parole and Probation Administration.
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) supervises the provincial, district, city ad
municipal jails through the provincial governments and the Bureau of Jail Management and
Penology. Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) supervises the regional
rehabilitation for youth offenders through the Bureau of Child and Youth Welfare.

JAIL AND PRISON

The Philippines has a distinction between a “Jail” and a “Prison”.

A Jail is defined as a place of confinement for inmates under investigation or undergoing trial, or
serving short term sentences. Jails include provincial, district city and municipal jails managed and
supervised by the Provincial Government and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology
(BJMP), which are both under the Department of the Interior and Local Government.* (Section B.
PROPOSED IWAHIG PRISON AND PENAL FARM MODERNIZED INSTITUTE

Prison and Penitentiary, Jail Distinguished/ 123th UN International Training course participants’
papers/ published 2003)

The term “Prison” which refers to a government establishment where national inmates/ prisoners
serve their sentence. Philippine prisons are also known as penal colonies or Prison and penal
Farms* (See Section 3 of revised IRR of RA 10575, The Bureau of corrections act of 2013) which is
managed and supervised by the Bureau of Corrections, an agency under the department of justice.

PERSON DEPRIVED OF LIBERTY

Refers to a detainee, inmate, or prisoner or other person under confinement or custody in any
other manner. However, in order to prevent labelling, branding or shaming by the use of these or
other derogatory words, the term “prisoner” has been replaced by this new and neutral phrase
“person deprived with liberty” under article 10, of International Covenant on civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR), who “shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of
the human person.”* (See Section 3 of revised IRR of RA 10575, The Bureau of corrections act of
2013)

Four Classes of PDL’s:* (Section C. 123th UN International Training course participants’ papers/
published 2003)

Person Deprived of Liberty Sentenced Term

National Inmate 3 years and 1 day of incarceration
Provincial Inmate 6 and 1 day to three years of incarceration
City Inmate One day to three years of incarceration
Municipal Inmate One day to six months of incarceration

Types of Detainees
Undergoing Investigation
Awaiting or undergoing Trial
Awaiting Final Judgement
PROPOSED IWAHIG PRISON AND PENAL FARM MODERNIZED INSTITUTE

BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS (BuCor)

Bureau of Corrections was founded in 1905 and has for its principal task, the rehabilitation of
National Inmates. *(Ch. 8, Title 3, Book 4 of executive Order no. 292, known as the “Administrative
Code of 1987”) It refers to the central office and the prison and penal farms which are known as
colonies. The central office headed by the Director General Usec. Gerald Bantag has control and
supervision over the prison and penal farm. *(See Section 3 of revised IRR of RA 10575, The Bureau
of corrections act of 2013)

At present, BuCor has seven prison facilities for its 46,416 PDL’s. It has two prison institution for
women and Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm holds the largest land reserve.

BUCOR PDL POPULATION

POPULATION

48,000
47,000
46,416
46,000
45,431 45318
45,000
44,000
43,000
42,000
41,432 41,426 41,172
41,000
40,000
2015 2016 2017 2018 Jan-19 Jul-19
PROPOSED IWAHIG PRISON AND PENAL FARM MODERNIZED INSTITUTE

BUCOR ADMISSION & RELEASE COMPARISON

RELEASE ADMISSION

9,000 9052

8,000

7,000

6,000 5955
5674 5775
5,418 5,254
5,000 5096 5,132
4,516
4,000 4,100
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

BUDGETARY

The Bureau of Correction has Php 4,099,807,000.00 appropriation from National budget*
(Department of Budget and Management, the 2019 National Budget) and has Php 70.00
Subsitence per inmate which is in total of 3.2 Million Pesos Food Allocation per day.
PROPOSED IWAHIG PRISON AND PENAL FARM MODERNIZED INSTITUTE

1.1.2 IWAHIG PRISON AND PENAL FARM

HISTORY

The Philippine Islands is home of savages and ransacking bandits, semi-civilized as viewed by the
Americans in the year 1904*(As published on The Evening Star newspaper/page 14/ July 16,
1911/American Library of Congress Online archives) that they have decided to build here the
unique and one of the largest open-air prison in the world, a colony for the prisoners who were
subjected for the American experimentation of reformation where they can live and work
harmoniously as a community on agricultural reserve of Iwahig situated on the island of Palawan.
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. * (BuCor
online website/ http://www.bucor.gov.ph/facilities/ippf.html)

Today, the colony is one of the seven operating correctional facilities under the Department of
Justice, officially known as the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm.
PROPOSED IWAHIG PRISON AND PENAL FARM MODERNIZED INSTITUTE

LAND RESERVE

Iwahig has the largest land reserve among seven prisons and 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 with the total of 26,629 hectares
of land.
PROPOSED IWAHIG PRISON AND PENAL FARM MODERNIZED INSTITUTE

IPPF PDL’s PROFILE IN CONFINEMENT

Iwahig has 2775 PDL at present and has 200 Correctional Officers that is distributed among four
colonies. The central colony has three security classifications, The maximum, medium and
minimum risks.

IPPF NUMBERS OF PDL & CO

Aug-19 200
2775

Jul-19 210
2826

Jan-19 222
2906

2018 176
2258

2017 180
2326

150 650 1150 1650 2150 2650

2017 2018 43466 43647 43678

CO 180 176 222 210 200
IPPF 2326 2258 2906 2826 2775

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

376, 13%
775, 28%

1675, 59%

MAXIMUM MEDIUM MINIMUM

PROPOSED IWAHIG PRISON AND PENAL FARM MODERNIZED INSTITUTE

ABOVE: PRISON GUARD IN MEDIUM SECURITY COMPOUND AND RIGHT THE MEDIUM SECURITY
CAMP ENTRANCE

EDUCATIONAL PROFILE

PDL EDUCATIONAL PROFILE

VOCATIONAL 19
COLLEGE GRADUATE 29
COLLEGE LEVEL 94
HS GRADUATE 359
HS LEVEL 531
ELEM. GRADUATE 488
ELEM. LEVEL 1098
ILLITERATE 208

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

Series 1
PROPOSED IWAHIG PRISON AND PENAL FARM MODERNIZED INSTITUTE

AS TO REGION CLASSIFICATION

PDL NUMBERS AS TO REGION IN IPPF

CONFINEMENT
1000
976
900

800

700

600

500 521

400

300
267
221 227
200
138 150
100
68 65 50
25 36 22 16 24
0 15 5

NUMBERS IN CONFINEMENT

ACCORDING TO COMMITED CRIMES

SPL AND OTHERS 22

CRIMES AGAINST CHASTITY 56

CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY 349

CRIMES AGAINST PROPERT 35

CRIMES AGAINST PERSONAL LIBERTY & SECURITY 2093

CRIMES RELATED TO OPIUM AND ILL. DRUGS 233

CRIMES AGAINST NATIONAL SECURITY 38

0 300 600 900 1200 1500 1800 2100

PROPOSED IWAHIG PRISON AND PENAL FARM MODERNIZED INSTITUTE

PDL’S IN COFINEMENT BY OCCUPATION

800
700
600
500
400 754
680
300
200
360
100 360
241
0
107
65 111
56 59

NUMBER

AS TO NATIONALITY

1, 0% 1, 0%

4, 0%
2822, 100%

2, 0%

FILIPINO FOREIGNER CHINESE PAKISTANI CANADIAN

PROPOSED IWAHIG PRISON AND PENAL FARM MODERNIZED INSTITUTE

PDL’S IN COFINEMENT BY GENDER (BJMP, BUCOR)

GENDER
MAN WOMAN GAY LESBIAN

3% 1%

37%

59%

WOMEN PDL’S IN NUMBER (BJMP, BUCOR)

WOMEN STATISTICS
MOTHER PREGNANT SINGLE

5%
7%

88%