CORRECTIONAL

ADMINISTRATION
 INSTITUIONAL CORRECTIONS
Corrections as a component of Criminal Justice System
Correctional and Corrections - are words describing a variety of functions typically carried out by
governmental agencies, involving the punishment, treatment, and supervision of persons who have been
convicted of crimes.
Correctional System, (aka penal system) - refers to a network of agencies whose functions are related to
rehabilitating convicted persons through either institutional-based or community-based corrections.
Corrections – is the component of the Philippine Criminal Justice System that is charged with the
responsibility for the custody, supervision, and rehabilitation of those who judicially found to have violated the
criminal law.
- is a branch of administration of criminal justice responsible for correction and rehabilitation of those
persons, who after observance of due process was found to have violated the penal law by competent
judicial authority.

Penology (Coined by Francis Leiber) – is the study of punishment for crime or of criminal offenders.
- from the Latin word “POENA” which means pain or suffering.
- deals primarily with the criminal punishment, i.e. the punishment inflicted for a culpable act defined as crime
by legal provisions. Whereas, the role of the correctional system is to ensure that an offender's sentence is
carried out, whether it's time in jail or prison, probation, or community service.

Theoretical Foundations of the Treatment of Criminals

1. Classical Theory – a theory which focuses on retributive justice and the principle that states: the
punishment should fit the crime. In this theory, man is considered as a free moral agent, therefore he is
responsible for his acts. Thus, this theory believed that the punishment should be swift, certain, and severe.
2. Neo-Classical Theory - This theory follows the principles of classical school, but the idea of swift
punishment was modified. They give emphasis on the exemption of the children and lunatic person because
they cannot calculate pleasure from pain nor have free-will.,,
3. Positivist Theory - This theory was pioneered by the Holy Three in Criminology namely: Cesare
Lombroso, Enrico Ferri and Rafael Garofalo. This School of thought defines individual responsibility as a non-
punitive reaction to crime and criminality, since a criminal was held to be not responsible for his acts, he
should not be punished. This school maintained that a crime, as an♥️y other act, is a natural phenomenon.
They focused more on the rehabilitation of the offender and believed that the treatment should fit the crime.

Punishment
- It is a means of social control. It is a device to cause people to become cohesive and to induce conformity.
- It is the infliction of some sort of pain on the offender for violating the law.
- Penalty imposed, as for transgression of law.

Early forms of Punishment

1. Garotte - was used in Spain for hundreds of years, it is an efficient means of execution by asphyxiation.
2. Guillotine - a machine with a heavy blade sliding vertically in grooves, used for beheading people. This
was one of the first methods of execution intended to end life rather than inflict pain.
3. Premature burial - also known as live burial, burial alive, or vivisepulture, means to be buried while still
alive.
4. Hanged, Drawn, and Quartered - Used mainly in England, it is widely considered to be one of the most
brutal forms of execution ever devised. First, the victim is tied in a wooden frame and dragged to the location
of their execution (drawn). They were then hung until nearly dead (hanged). Immediately after being tak,en
down their abdomen was opened, and their entrails removed. As the victim watched they were then burned
before his or her eyes. He was then also emasculated and eventually beheaded. After all this, his body was
divided into four parts (quartered) and placed in various locations around England as a public crime deterrent.
This punishment was only used on men for any convicted woman would generally be burnt at the stake as a
matter of decency.
5. Death by Sawing - The criminal was attached to an arch of wood and then sawn vertically from the groin
down through the skull.
6. Stocks and Pillory - pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes
for securing the head and hands. Stocks, unlike the pillory or pranger, restrain only the feet.
7. Gossip's Bridle - also known as scolds’ bridle, witch bridle or simply called brank. Is an iron frame placed
over the head. It had a gag or a plate which placed in the woman’s mouth to prevent her from moving her
tongue.
8. Ducking stools or Cucking stools - A culprit was placed on a stool attached to a wooden arm then
immersed repeatedly on the edge of a stream or pond. The number of ducking was usually three.
9. Flogging - also called whipping or caning, a beating administered with a whip or rod, with blows commonly
directed to the person’s back.

Contemporary forms of Punishment

1. Imprisonment - Putting offenders in prison for the purpose of protecting the public and at the same time
rehabilitating by requiring the latter to undergo institutional treatment programs.
2. Payment of Fine – this is common to violators of minor offenses. However, there are crimes where fines
are imposed with imprisonment.
3. Parole – is defined as a procedure by which the prisoners are released on the basis of individual response
to the progress within the correctional institution and service by which they are provided the necessary
controls and guidance as they serve the remainder of their sentence within the free community.
4. Conditional pardon – it is an executive clemency to be exercised by the president. It is a mercy given but
with conditions upon the release of the grantee.
5. Probation – it is a procedure under which an accused is found guilty of a crime and is released by the court
with conditions and subject to the supervision of the probation officer.
6. Death penalty – sentencing a convicted person to death especially to those who convicted of heinous
crime
7. Corporal Punishment – some countries are still imposing physical torture as punishment. But in our
country, we are no longer using physical torture as a form of punishment because of the constitutional
prohibition for such imposition. Corporal punishment in our country is given thru life imprisonment.
8. Banishment – otherwise known as transportation, this is carried out by sending or putting away an
offender either by a prohibition against coming into a specified territory, or a prohibition against going outside
a specified territory, such as an island to where the offender has been removed.
9. Community Service – like payment of fines, this is commonly imposed to those simple infractions of laws.
Puppip
Theories justifying imposition of Penalty (Punishment)
1. Prevention Theory – the state must punish the criminal to prevent or suppress the danger to the state
arising from the criminal acts of the offender.
2. Self Defense Theory – the state has the right to punish the criminal as a measure of self-defense so as to
protect society from the threat and wrongs inflicted by the criminal.
3. Reformation Theory – the object of punishment is to correct and reform the offenders.
4. Exemplary Theory – the criminal is punished to serve as an example to deter others from committing
crimes.
5. Justice Theory – the crime must be punished by the state as an act of retributive justice, a vindication of
absolute right and moral law violated by the criminal.

Goals of Sentencing
1. Retribution – involves the payment of a debt to both the victim and the society and, thus, atonement for a
person’s offense. It literally means “paying back” the offender for what he or she has done. Victims are entitled
to “get even” or are short personal vengeance.
2. Expiation or Atonement – group vengeance
3. Deterrence or Exemplarity – is the discouragement or prevention of crimes similar to the one for which an
offender is being sentenced.

Two forms of deterrence can be identified: specific and general.

a. Specific deterrence – is the deterrence of the individual being punished from committing additional
crimes.
b. General deterrence – occurs when the punishment of an individual serves as an example to
others who might be thinking of committing a crime --- thereby dissuading them from their planned
course of action.
4. Protection/Social Defense – shown by its inflexible severity to recidivist and habitual delinquents.
5. Reformation – the goal of this is to change criminal lifestyle into law- abiding ones. It is accomplished when
an offender’s criminal patterns of thought, and behavior have been replaced by allegiance to society’s values.

Juridical Conditions of Penalty

1. Must be productive of suffering – without however affecting the integrity of the human personality.
2. Must be commensurate with the offense – different crimes must be punished with different penalties.
3. Must be personal – no one should be punished for the crime of another
4. Must be legal – it is the consequence of a judgment according to law.
5. Must be certain – no one escape its effect
6. Must be equal to all
7. Must be correctional

Constitutional provisions for the imposition of Punishment

Section 1, Article III of the 1987 Constitution is the main provision in prescribing limitations for
punishment. “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without DUE PROCESS OF LAW, nor
shall be denied the EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAWS”

Considering that by imposition of punishment, a person may be deprived of life, liberty or property, the
Constitution requires the observance of two Constitutional guarantees:
1). Due process of law; and
2). Equal Protection of the laws.

Exemptions from Punishment

Not everyone found violated penal laws will be subjected to punishment. Under Article 12 of the Revised
Penal Code as amended, the following are the enumerated circumstances which exempt a person from
criminal liability:
1.) An imbecile or an insane person, unless the insane person has acted during lucid interval;
2.) A minor under 15 years of age;
3.) A minor over 15 years of age but under 18 unless he acted with discernment;
4.) Any person who, while performing a lawful act with due care, causes an injury by mere accident without
fault or intention of causing it;
5.) Any person who acts under the compulsion of an irresistible force;
6.) Any person who acts under the impulse of uncontrollable fear of an equal or greater injury;
7.) Any person who fails to perform an act required by law, when prevented by some lawful or insuperable
cause.

Early Prisons
1. Mamertine Prison – an early place of confinement in Rome in 64 BC built under the main sewer.
2. Sanctuary – Asylum that placed the wrongdoer in seclusion or arrest in cities followed by Christian Church.
This form of imprisonment was modified into more formalized places of punishment within the walls of
monasteries and abbeys.

Early Workhouses
Bridewell – a workhouse created for the employment and housing of London’s “riffraff” in 1557 and was
based on the work ethic that followed the breakup of feudalism and increased immigration of rural populations
to urban areas.

Early Cellular Prison

1. Maison de Force – A Belgian workhouse for beggars and miscreants, designed to make profit by an
enforced pattern of hard work with both discipline and silence. An important rule: “If a man will not work,
neither let him eat”.
2. Hospice of San Michele – A correction facility designed for incorrigible boys and youth, and included
silence, large work areas, and separate sleeping cells. Both expiation and reform were intended goals.
3. Walnut Street Jail – Originally constructed as a detention jail in Philadelphia created by the Quakers, it
was converted into a state prison and became the first American Penitentiary.

AUBURN AND PENNSYLVANIA PRISON SYSTEMS

Auburn Prison System
●Established in 1819, and the main feature of this prison system is the confinement of the prisoners in a
single cell at night and congregate work in shops during the day.
●A prison model consisting of small individual cells, a large work area for group labor, and enforced silence.
●Later innovations at Auburn were the lockstep (marching in single file, placing the right hand on the shoulder
of the man ahead, and facing toward the guard), the striped suit, two-foot extensions of the walls between
cells, and special seating arrangements at meals—all designed to insure strict silence. The Auburn and
Pennsylvania systems were both based on a belief that criminal habits were learned from and reinforced by
other criminals.

Pennsylvania Prison System

● Established in 1829 and this prison system requires solitary confinement of the prisoners in their own cells
day and night, where they lived, slept, received religious instructions and read the bible, and were given work.
●An early prison system requiring inmate’s silence, individual cells, and inmate labor in those cells. Although
this prison system aroused great international interest, it was adopted by only two other states, New Jersey
and Rhode Island, but later on abandoned the system. In contrast, many European countries wholeheartedly
adopted the Pennsylvania model.
●William Penn. The founder of Pennsylvania and a system of justice that required compensation of victims
and repentance to restore the offender to God’s grace. Penn is also the leader of the Quakers who brought
the concept of more humanitarian treatment of offenders to America, but later in Italy and England through its
influence on such advocates as Beccaria and Howard.

The History of Philippine Prison

Pre-colonial and Spanish Regimes

During the pre-colonial times, the informal prison system was community-based, as there were no
national penitentiaries to speak of. Natives who defied or violated the local laws were meted appropriate
penalties by the local chieftains. Incarceration in the community was only meant to prevent the culprit from
further harming the residents. The formal prison system in the Philippines started only during the Spanish
regime, where an organized corrective service was made operational. Established in 1847 pursuant to Section
1708 of the Revised Administrative Code and formally opened by Royal Decree in 1865, the Old Bilibid Prison
was constructed as the main penitentiary on Oroquieta Street, Manila and designed to house the prison
population of the country. This prison became known as the “Cárcel y Presidio Correccional” and could
accommodate 1,127 prisoners.

The American and Commonwealth Government

When the Americans took over in the 1900s, the Bureau of Prisons was created under the
Reorganization Act of 1905 (Act No. 1407) as an agency under the Department of Commerce and Police. It
also paved the way for the re-establishment of San Ramon Prison in 1907 which was destroyed during the
Spanish-American War. On January 1, 1915, the San Ramon Prison was placed under the auspices of the
Bureau of Prisons and started receiving prisoners from Mindanao. Before the reconstruction of San Ramon
Prison, the Americans established in 1904 the Luhit penal settlement (now Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm) on
a vast reservation of 28,072 hectares. It would reach a total land area of 40,000 hectares in the late 1950s.
Located on the westernmost part of the archipelago far from the main town to confine incorrigibles with little
hope of rehabilitation, the area was expanded to 41,007 hectares by virtue of Executive Order No. 67 issued
by Governor Newton Gilbert on October 15, 1912. Other penal colonies were established during the American
regime. On November 27, 1929, the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) was created under Act No.
3579 to provide separate facilities for women offenders while the Davao Penal Colony in Southern Mindanao
was opened in 1932 under Act No. 3732.

PRESENT PRISON FACILITIES

1. NEW BILIBID PRISON (NBP): Commonwealth Act No. 67 was enacted, appropriating one million pesos
for the construction of a new national prison in Muntinlupa. On November 15, 1940, all inmates of the Old
Bilibid Prison in Manila were transferred to the new site. The new institution had a capacity of 3,000 prisoners
and it was officially named the New Bilibid Prison on January 22, 1941. It was surrounded by three layers of
barbed wire. The institution became the maximum-security compound and continues to be so. The NBP
expanded with the construction of new security facilities. These were the Medium Security Camp, which was
used as a military stockade during martial law and the Minimum-Security Camp, whose first site was
christened Bukang Liwayway.

2. 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, 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. After several years,
the colony became practically self- supporting, with 75,000 coconut trees, contributing to the colony’s self-
sufficiency. Aside from coconuts, rice, corn, papaya and other crops were also cultivated.

3. IWAHIG PENAL COLONY: established during the American occupation. During the Spanish regime,
Puerto Princesa was designated as a place where offenders sentenced to banishment were exiled. The
institution had for its first Superintendent Lt. George Wolfe, 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. 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 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. 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.
4. DAVAO PENAL COLONY: the first penal settlement founded and organized under Filipino administration.
It was originally had an area of approximately 30,000 hectares in the districts of Panabo and Tagum, Davao
del Norte, was established on January 21, 1932 by virtue of Act No. 3732. 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 number of prisoners escaped.
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 destroyed the
colony.

5. CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION FOR WOMEN (CIW): After a series of negotiations started by Prison
Director Ramon Victorio, the Philippine Legislature passed Republic Act No. 3579 in November 1929. It
authorized the transfer of all women inmates to a building in Welfareville at Mandaluyong, Rizal and
appropriated P60,000 for the move. 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.

6. SABLAYAN PRISON AND PENAL FARM: Nearer to Manila than other penal colonies, the Sablayan Penal
Colony is 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. Three
sub-colonies were later organized. One is a reservation which to 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. Sablayan prison is a facility where prisoners from
NBP are brought for decongestion purposes.

7. 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. The
LRP has an inmate capacity of 500. The prison admits convicted offenders from Region VI and from the
national penitentiary in Muntinlupa.

BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS
The Bureau of Corrections was founded in 1905. The eleven (11) bay leaves, which represent a decade per
leaf, refer to the achievement and developments of BUCOR since its existence. It also covers the 112th
anniversary of BUCOR where its first ever modernization law was put into place. The man-figure represents
the Person Deprived of Liberty (PDL), who had undergone security and effective rehabilitation programs
(prison railings with green background) through meaningful justice (justice symbol), is about to be released
from prison facing the EAST where the sun rises which represent the free society and symbolized new hope.
The seven rays of the sun further symbolized the seven (7) Operating Prison and Penal Farms of BUCOR.

The BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS 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 than
three (3) years. It is headed by a Director General with the rank of an Undersecretary. He is assisted by the
three (3) Deputy-Director Generals with the rank of an assistant secretary: one for administration, one for
security and operations and one for reformation.

LEGAL BASIS:
 Reorganization Act 1407 - Bureau of Prisons was established on November 1, 1905, of the
Philippine Commission until it was transferred to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
 The Prison Law incorporated in chapter 45 of the Revised Administrative Code of 1917.
 Section 26 of the Administrative Code of 1987 issued November 23, 1989,
 Proclamation No. 495 of the President of the Philippines change the name of the Bureau of Prison to
Bureau of Corrections
 Republic Act No. 10575 - signed into law on May 24, 2013, which provides for the modernization,
professionalization and restructuring of the Bureau.

ADMISSION PROCEDURE IN THE BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS

Admission of Inmates to BuCor
1. An inmate shall be admitted to Directorate for Reception and Diagnostic formerly Reception and Diagnostic
Center to study and classify inmates and detainees committed to the BuCor after the presentation of the
following documents:
a. Mittimus/Commitment Order of the court;
b. Information and court decision in the case;
c. Certificate of detention, if any; and
d. Certificate that the case is not on appeal
Note: The mittimus/commitment order shall be under the signature of the judge and shall bear the seal
of the court by the clerk of court.
2. Register the inmates to the registry book containing:
a. Name of the inmates;
b. Reason for the commitment and authority thereof;
c. Sentence;
d. Date and hour of admission; and
e. Date and hour of discharge or transfer and basis thereof
3. After registration, the inmate shall be photographed, front and side view, fingerprinted and assigned a
permanent prison number. The male inmate shall then be given a regulation haircut and his beard/moustache,
if any shall be shaven off.
Notes: An inmate may not wear a wig or artificial hairpiece unless medical authorization to do is approved by
the Superintendent. The admission of an inmate shall be made in an area that is physically separated from
the general population.
4. Upon admission, the inmate shall be searched thoroughly. He shall be allowed to retain in his possession
only such articles as are authorized. All lists of articles taken from the inmate shall be entered in the inmate’s
record and received for by the officer in charge. These items shall return to the inmate upon his discharge
unless previously disposed of at the inmate’s request or ordered condemned by the Superintendent after the
lapse of two (2) years.
Note: Items considered as contraband shall be confiscated.
5. Inmate shall be issued two (2) regulation uniforms and two (2) t-shirts, and when practicable, he shall also
issue one each of the following and be responsible for such items issued to him:
● Blanket; Mat; Pillow with pillow case; Mosquito net; mess kit; and Pair of slippers

Note: The superintendent may allow the inmates to bring electrical equipment like television sets,
radio, video players, electrical fans and similar items provided the same is for common use with other
inmates.

QUARANTINE
Upon the admission in the DRD, an inmate shall be placed in quarantine for at least five (5) days during which
he shall be:
1. Given physical examination to determine any physical illness or handicap or mental ailment and to
segregate those suspected of having an infectious or contagious disease. If found sick, the inmate shall be
immediately confined in the medical facility;
2. Oriented with the rules of the facility; and
3. Interviewed in private by the counsellor, social worker or other program staff officers.
After the quarantine period, the inmate shall remain in the DRD for a period of not exceeding fifty-five (55)
days to undergo psychiatric, psychological, sociological, vocational, education and religious and other
examinations. The result of the said examinations shall be the basis for the inmate’s individualized treatment
program, thereafter, he shall be assigned to his quarters.

Security Risk Classification for BuCor Inmates

1. Maximum Security – for dangerous or high security risks inmates as determined by the Classification
Board who require a high degree of control and supervision. Under this category are: those sentenced to
death; those whose minimum sentence is twenty (20) years imprisonment; remand inmates or detainees
whose sentences are under review by the Supreme Court of the Court of Appeals; those with pending
cases; recidivist, habitual delinquents and escapees; those confined for Reception and Diagnostic; those
under disciplinary punishment or safekeeping; and those who are criminally insane or those with severe
personality or emotional disorders that make them dangerous to fellow inmates or the BuCor personnel
2. Medium Security – for inmates who cannot be trusted in less secured areas and those whose conduct
for behavior require minimum supervision.
Under this category are: Whose maximum sentence is less than 20 years of imprisonment; Remand
inmates or detainees whose sentences are below 20 years; Those who have 2 or more records of
escapes if they have served 8 years since they were recommitted. Those with one (1) record of
escape must serve five (5) years; and; First time offenders are sentenced to life imprisonment if
they have served five (5) years in the maximum security facility or less, upon recommendation of the
Superintendent.

3. Minimum Security – for those who can be reasonably trusted to serve their sentence under less
restricted conditions such as: With severe physical handicap as certified by the chief of the medical
services of the institutions; Who are sixty-five (65) years of age and above, without pending case and
whose convictions are on appeal; Who have only six (6) months more to serve before the expiration of
their maximum sentence.

Discharge
Basis of release of PDL – PDL may be released from prison:
● Upon the expiration of his sentence;
● By order of the court or of competent authority; or
● After being granted parole, pardon, amnesty.

Who may authorize release – the following are authorized to order or approve the release of PDL:
a. The Supreme Court or lower courts, in cases of acquittal or grant of bail;
b. The President of the Philippines, in cases of executive clemency or amnesty;
c. The Board of Pardons and Parole, in parole cases; and
d. The Director, upon the expiration of the sentence of the PDL.

SALIENT PROVISIONS OF R.A. 10575

Definition of Terms.
a. Safekeeping, which is the custodial component of the BuCor’s present corrections system, shall refer to
the act that ensures the public (including families of inmates and their victims) that national inmates are
provided with their basic needs, completely incapacitated from further committing criminal acts, and have
been totally cut off from their criminal networks (or contacts in the free society) while serving sentence inside
the premises of the national penitentiary. This act also includes protection against illegal organized armed
groups which have the capacity of launching an attack on any prison camp of the national penitentiary to
rescue their convicted comrade or to forcibly amass firearms issued to prison guards.
b. Reformation, which is the rehabilitation component of the BuCor’s present corrections system, shall refer
to the acts which ensure the public (including families of inmates and their victims) that released national
inmates are no longer harmful to the community by becoming reformed individuals prepared to live a normal
and productive life upon reintegration to the mainstream society.

The Mandates of the Bureau of Corrections. – The BuCor shall be in charge of safekeeping and
instituting reformation programs to national inmates sentenced to more than three (3) years.
a. Safekeeping of National Inmates – The safekeeping of inmates shall include decent provision of quarters,
food, water and clothing in compliance with established United Nations standards. The security of the inmates
shall be undertaken by the Custodial Force consisting of Corrections Officers with a ranking system and salary
grades similar to its counterpart in the BJMP.
b. Reformation of National Inmates – The reformation programs, which will be instituted by the BuCor for
the inmates, shall be the Moral and Spiritual Program; Education and Training Program; Work and Livelihood
Program; Sports and Recreation Program; Health and Welfare Program; and Behavior Modification Program,
to include Therapeutic Community. The reformation programs shall be undertaken by Professional
Reformation Personnel consisting of Corrections Technical Officers with ranking system and salary grades
like Corrections Officers.

Corrections Technical Officers

These are personnel employed in the implementation of reformation programs and those personnel whose
nature of work requires proximate or direct contact with inmates.

Facilities of the Bureau of Corrections. – The BuCor shall operate with standard and uniform design of
prison facilities, reformation facilities and administrative facilities, through all the operating prison and penal
farms, such as the Dormitory; Administration building; Perimeter/Security fences; Hospital/Infirmary;
Recreation/Multipurpose Hall; Training/Lecture center; Workshop facility; Mess hall/kitchen; Visiting area;
Water tank and pump; Reception and diagnostic center; and Service personnel facilities.
Supervision of the Bureau of Corrections. – The Department of Justice (DOJ), having the BuCor as a line
bureau and a constituent unit, shall maintain a relationship of administrative supervision with the latter as
defined under Section 38(2), Chapter 7, Book IV of Executive Order No. 292 (Administrative Code of 1987),
except that the DOJ shall retain authority over the power to review, reverse, revise or modify the decisions of
the BuCor in the exercise of its regulatory or quasi-judicial functions.

Security and Reformation. From the DRD, the Custodial Force and Reformation Personnel of respective
security institutions/camps shall be in charge for the security and the implementation of the recommended
individual inmate reformation treatment program and the inmate-group reformation treatment program of each
and every inmate while serving sentence, respectively.

Pre-Release and Post-Release Programs. The Directorate for External Relations (DER) shall be
responsible for pre-release and post-release programs of inmates due for release. The DER shall also
evaluate, classify, and apply necessary reformation programs to inmates for readiness to join the mainstream
society upon release, as part of the pre-release program. The inmate readiness programs are customized
towards their specialization in the areas of educational growth, livelihood entrepreneurship, sports
engagement, religious practice, and appropriate medical treatment. The DER shall also classify inmates
according to professional, technical and vocational skills acquired for referral and endorsement to appropriate
companies or corporations participating in BuCor On-TheJob Training and Skills Development Programs for
newly reformed inmates.

To fully implement a successful reintegration of released inmates to the community, the following
circumferential objectives are to be focused upon by DER, to wit:
1. Secure support from family and community prior to release period;
2. Secure acceptance from family and community upon release
.
These shall facilitate the achievement of the core reintegration objectives, which are aimed at the a)
restoration of civil identity by society upon restoration of civil rights by law, and b) reestablishment of
lost personal identity as law-abiding citizens in the free society.
The personnel of DER shall perform diagnostics functions to classify inmates for the application of appropriate
prerelease and post-release programs. Administration of pre-release programs by DER shall be assisted by
reformation officers. Post release programs shall be performed solely by DER personnel. Throughout the
course, from DRD to the Custodial Force and Reformation Personnel, and finally to DER, inmates of
BuCor are continuously accorded with the proper safekeeping.

Jail Defined
These are institutions for the confinement of persons who are awaiting final disposition of their criminal cases
and also the service of those convicted and punished with shorter sentences, usually up to three (3) years.

Origin of Jail
When the first crude system of community organization began to emerge in the Stone Age, a small
cave was undoubtedly designated as a holding cell for the detention of those who violated the tribal code until
the elders could gather at the side of some nearby mountain to decide upon punishment. But when
punishment had been determined, a restraining boulder was rolled aside from the mouth of the cave, the
guilty were brought and punishment promptly meted, until about 200 years ago, the jail was used exclusively
for the detention of the accused pending trial and imposition of punishment.
The punishment imposed were torture, banishment, exile, death, branding, Mutilation, but never
imprisonment. The jail is said to have originated in Medieval England. When Henry II ordered that the
sheriff in each of the institutions spread through England in 1166 originally conceived as a place for detaining
suspected offenders until they could be tried, jails eventually came to serve the dual purposes of detention
and punishment. The concept of the English jail was brought to the colonies soon after the settlers arrived
from the Old World, the jail was used to detain those awaiting trial and those awaiting punishment; the stocks
and pillory and the whipping post being located nearby. At the start of the nineteenth century, children,
debtors, slaves, mentally ill and physically ill were usually sent to other institutions, both pre-trial and began to
be housed in jails.

Jail Structure
In the attempt to better manage and control inmate behavior, jails have progressed through three
phases of architectural design. Each design is based on a particular philosophy of inmate management and
control.
First-Generation Jails.
Jails were built in a linear design that dates back to the 18th century. In this type of jail, inmates live
in multiple-occupancy cells or dormitories. The cells line corridors that are arranged like spokes. Inmate
supervision is sporadic or intermittent; staff must patrol the corridors to observe inmates in their cells. Contact
between jailers and inmates is minimal unless there is an incident to which jailers must react. The biggest
problem with first- generation jails is the inability of an officer to see what is going on in more than one or two
cells at a time. That limitation gave rise to the second-generation jails of the 1960s.

Second-Generation Jails.
This emerged in the 1960’s to replace old, rundown linear jails and provide officers the opportunity to
observe as much of the housing area as possible from a single vantage point. In this type, the staff remain in a
secure control booth overlooking inmate housing areas called pods. Surveillance is remote and verbal
interaction with inmates is even less frequent than in first-generation jails. In both the first and second
generation jails, the biggest problem is that staff and inmates are separated.

Third-Generation Jails.
Also known as direct-supervision jails, emerged in the 1970s. Inmates’ cells are arranged around a
common area, or dayroom. There is no secure control booth for the supervising officer, and there are no
physical barriers between the officer and the inmates. In this jail, the inmate style is direct supervision. An
officer is stationed in the pod with the inmates. The officers move about the pod and interact with the inmates
to manage their behavior.

BUREAU OF JAIL MANAGEMENT AND PENOLOGY

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology also referred to as the Jail Bureau was created pursuant to
Section 60, RA 6975, and initially consisting of uniformed officers and members of the Jail Management and
Penology Service as constituted under PD 765.

Organization and Key positions of the BJMP under RA 9263

The BJMP shall be headed by a Chief who shall be assisted by two deputy chiefs, one for administration
and one for operation, all who shall be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the
Secretary of DILG from among the qualified officers with at least the rank of senior jail superintendent.
Notes:
● In no case shall any officer who has retired or to be retired within six months from his/her compulsory
retirement age be appointed as Chief of Jail Bureau.
● The chief of the Jail Bureau shall serve a tour of duty not to exceed four years.
● BJMP is under the Department of Interior and Local Government.

JAIL OFFICES AND OPERATING UNITS’ FUNCTIONS, DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Office of the Warden – the warden is responsible for the direction, coordination and control of the personnel,
the inmates, and the programs of the institution. Under the Office of the Warden are the following:
1. Intelligence and Investigation Team – collates and submits intelligence information to the
warden on the matters pertaining to jail conditions.
2. Jail Inspectorate Section – inspect the jail facilities, the personnel and prisoners/detainees and submit
reports of deficiencies noted.
3. Public Relations Office – task with the maintenance of good public relations to obtain the necessary and
adequate support of the public.

OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT WARDEN – He undertakes the development of a systematic

process of the treatment for these individual inmates and determines the degree of custody for such
individuals in his capacity as chairman of the Classification Board. He also automatically serves as chair of the
Disciplinary Board.
1. Classification Board – is tasked with the gathering and collating of information and other data of every
prisoner into a case study to determine the work assignment, type of supervision and degree of custody and
restriction under which an offender must live in jail.
2. Disciplinary Board – hearing disciplinary cases involving violation of jail rules and regulations by the
inmates.

ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP
1. Personnel Management Branch – task for the assignment of personnel, procedures of selection,
preparation of personnel reports and individual record files.
2. Records and Statistics Branch – keep and maintain booking sheets and arrest reports, keep an orderly
record of fingerprints and photographs, prepare and present statistical data of inmates.
3. Property and Support Branch – take charge of the safekeeping of equipment and supplies and materials
needed for the operation of the jail.
4. Budget and Finance Branch – take charge of all financial matters such as budgeting, financing,
accounting, and auditing.
5. Mess Service Branch – prepare the daily menu, prepare, and cook the food and serve it to the inmates.
6. General Services Branch – maintain and repair jail facilities and equipment. It is also a task with
cleanliness and beautification of the jail compound.
7. Mittimus Computing Branch – receive court decisions and compute the date of the full completion of the
service sentence of the inmate.
Note: MITTIMUS – is a warrant issued by the court bearing its seal and signature of the judge, directing the
jail or prison authorities to receive the convicted offender for service of sentence imposed therein.

SECURITY GROUP – provides a system of sound custody, security and control of inmates and their
movements and responsible to enforce prison or jail discipline.
1. Escort/Subpoena Platoon Escort Section – produce inmates under proper guard, to the Prosecutor's
authority upon proper summons. Transfer the prisoner to a penal institution on proper order of the court or
authority. Subpoena Section – receives, distributes. And/or serve subpoenas, notices, orders, summons and
other court processes directed to inmates confined in jail.
2. Escort Section – responsible for proper system of security and control procedures of inmates in
confinement, and the searching of all personnel and visitors entering the jail compound to check and prevent
the smuggling of contraband.
3. Custodian Section – conduct regular custodial functions over inmates.
4. Admitting and Releasing Section – part of the security platoon. It is tasked with receiving persons
committed to the jail and the proper release of prisoners who have served prison sentences or are released
on orders of competent courts or authority.
Process of Admitting Person in Jail:
1. Booking
2. Identification
3. Property Receiving and safekeeping
4. Briefing

REHABILITATION GROUP – provides service and assistance to prisoners and their families to enable them
to solve their individual needs and problems arising from the prisoner’s confinement. Correction
and Rehabilitation it’s the primary interest of this group.
1. Medical and Health Services – provides medical and physical examination of inmates upon confinement,
treatment of sick inmates. Also conducts psychiatric and psychological examinations.
2. Work and Education Therapy Services – in charge of the job and educational programs needed for
rehabilitation of inmates by providing them job incentives so they can earn and provide support for their
families
while in jail.
3. Socio-Cultural Services – it takes care of the social care of the social casework study of the individual
prisoners by making interviews, home visits, and referral to community resources, free legal services, and
liaison work for inmates.
4. Chaplaincy Services – it takes charge of the religious and moral upliftment of the inmates through
religious services. This branch caters to all religious sects.
5. Guidance Counselling Services – responsible for the individual and group counselling activities to help
the lead a wholesome constructive life.

COMMITMENT AND CLASSIFICATION OF PRISONERS AND DETAINEES

COMMITMENT - means entrusting for the confinement of an inmate to a jail by a competent court or authority,
for the purposes of safekeeping during the pendency of his/her case.
CLASSIFICATION - refers to assigning or to grouping of inmates according to their respective penalty gender,
age, nationality, health, criminal records, etc.

CATEGORIES OF INMATES -The two (2) general categories of inmates are:

a. Prisoner - inmate who is convicted by final judgment; and
b. Detainee - inmate who is undergoing investigation/trial or awaiting final judgment.

CLASSIFICATION OF PRISONERS - The four (4) main classes of prisoners are:

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.
CLASSIFICATION OF DETAINEES - The three (3) classes of detainees are those:
a. Undergoing investigation.
b. Awaiting or undergoing trial; and
c. Awaiting final judgment.

INMATES SECURITY CLASSIFICATION -The following are the classifications of inmates according to
security risk each may pose:
a. High Profile Inmate - those who require increased security based on intense media coverage or public
concern because of their offense such as but not limited to those who have been involved in a highly
controversial or sensationalized crime or those who became prominent for being a politician, government
official, multi-million entrepreneur, religious or cause-oriented group leader and movie or television
personality.
b. High Risk Inmate - those who are considered highly dangerous and who require a greater degree of
security, control and supervision because of their deemed capability of escape, of being rescued, and their
ability to launch or spearhead acts of violence inside the jail. This includes those charged with heinous crimes
such as murder, kidnapping for ransom, economic sabotage, syndicated or organized crimes, etc. Also
included are inmates with military or police training or those whose life is in danger or under imminent threat.
c. High Value Target (HVT) - a target, either a resource or a person, who may either be an enemy
combatant, high ranking official or a civilian in danger of capture or death, typically in possession of critical
intelligence, data, or authority marked as an objective for a mission and which a commander requires for
the successful completion of the same.
d. Security Threat Group - any formal or informal ongoing inmates’ group, gang, organization or association
consisting of three or more members falling into one of the following basic categories: street gangs, prison
gangs, outlaw gangs, traditional organized crime, aboriginal gangs, subversive groups and terrorist
organizations.
e. Subversive Group - a group of persons that adopts or advocates subversive principles or policies
tending to overthrow or undermine an established government.
f. Terrorist Group - a group of persons that commits any of the following: piracy and mutiny in the high seas
or in the Philippine waters, rebellion or insurrection, coup d’état, murder, kidnapping and serious illegal
detention, crimes involving destruction, arson, hijacking, violation of laws on toxic substances and hazardous
and nuclear waste control, violations of atomic energy regulations, anti-piracy and anti-highway robbery,
illegal and unlawful possession, manufacture, dealing in, acquisition or disposition of firearms, ammunitions or
explosives.
g. Violent Extremist Offender (VEO) - a person whose political or religious ideologies are considered
far outside the mainstream attitudes of the society or who violates common moral standards and who has
adopted an increasingly extreme ideals and aspirations resorting to the employment of violence in the
furtherance of his/her beliefs
h. Medium Risk Inmates -those who represent a moderate risk to the public and staff. These inmates still
require greater security, control and supervision as they might escape from and might commit violence inside
the jail.
i. Minimum Risk Inmates (Ordinary Inmates) - those inmates who have lesser tendencies to commit
offenses and generally pose the least risk to public safety. In most cases, they may be first time offenders and
are charged with light offenses.

REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMITMENT - No person shall be committed to any jail facility without the following
required documents:
a. Commitment Order;
b. Medical Certificate - recent medical certificate taken within 24 hours prior to admission;
c. Complaint/Information;
d. Police Booking Sheet; and
e. Certificate of Detention from PNP and/or NBI.

RECEPTION AND RELEASING PROCEDURES, CLASSIFICATION BOARD, DISCIPLINARY BOARD AND

PUNISHABLE ACTS OF INMATES

RECEPTION PROCEDURES - A decent and humane program of confinement starts with a systematic
reception of inmates for commitment to the BJMP’s jail facilities. The following procedures should
therefore be observed:
A. Gater - He or she checks the credentials of the person bringing the inmate/the committing officer to
determine his/her identity and authority. Also, he or she reviews the completeness of the following documents
before the person bringing an inmate/the committing officer is allowed to enter the facility. The documents
mentioned earlier refer to the:
1. Commitment Order;
2. Medical Certificate – recent medical certificate taken within 24 hours prior to admission;
3. Complaint/Information;
4. Police Booking Sheet; and
5. Certificate of Detention from PNP and/or NBI. Additionally, the "gater" shall subject the person to be
committed and his/her escorts for search and inspection as prescribed. Finally, he or she (gater) refers to the
person to be committed and his or her escorts to the Records Unit.

B. Records Unit- This unit examines the completeness and authenticity of the requirements for Commitment
(Commitment Order, Booking Sheet, Arrest Report and Information) before it refers the inmate for physical
examination by the Health Unit.

C. Health Unit:
1. Checks the authenticity of the entries in the medical certificate; conducts thorough physical examination of
the inmate to determine his or her true physical condition; and asks searching questions to determine
injury/injuries found to have been sustained by the inmate after the conduct of medical examination or those
injuries not diagnosed prior to commitment in jail. Inmates are required to undress while undergoing medical
examination. A female inmate shall be examined by female health personnel. A male inmate may be
examined by either male or female health personnel;
2. In case of any discrepancy found during physical examination but the same discrepancy is not indicated in
the medical certificate, the committing officer shall be required to secure another medical certificate of the
inmate. The commitment of an inmate shall be held in abeyance pending the submission of a new medical
certificate with findings congruent to the medical findings of the jail physician/nurse. The reason for the
deferment of commitment shall be recorded in the jail blotter. In case the committing officer fails to return the
inmate to jail within twenty-four (24) hours, the reasons for the deferment of commitment and the grounds
thereof shall be reported immediately to the court that issued the commitment order;
3. In the absence of a jail nurse/medical personnel, the receiving officer shall refer the person to be committed
to the nearest government health facility for medical evaluation (check the medical certificate and observe the
mental alertness, physical abnormalities and the overall appearance of the inmates); and
4. If no discrepancy is found during physical examination, the inmate shall be referred back to the Records
Unit.
D. Records Unit - Receives the inmate and the documents from the committing officer and conducts the
following:
1. Start the booking procedures:
a.Accomplish the jail booking sheet;
b.Strip-search the inmate to check for any birthmarks, tattoos, etc;
c.Encode the inmate's information to the NIMS;
d.Fingerprint and photograph the inmate with a mugshot background; and
e. List the names of the visitors authorized by the inmate.

2. Apprise the inmate in a dialect that he/she understands of the

provisions of Art 29 of the RPC which was further amended by R.A. 10592; (Refer to ANNEX “A”)
3. Facilitate the signing of the Detainee’s Manifestation if he/she agrees to abide by the same disciplinary
rules imposed upon convicted inmates. Otherwise, the warden issues a certification under oath manifesting
that the inmate was apprised of the provision of Art 29 of the RPC as amended and refused to abide by the
same; and
4. Store all documents in the Inmate’s Carpeta
E. Property Custodian
1. Checks the inmate’s belongings for the presence of contraband. Discovery of any contraband shall be
treated in accordance with existing policies.
2. Takes all cash and other personal properties from the inmate, lists them down on a receipt form with
duplicate, duly signed by him/her and countersigned by the inmate. The original receipt should be given to the
inmate and the duplicate be kept by the Property Custodian.
3. Keeps all cash and other valuables of the inmate in a safety vault. Said cash and valuables may be turned
over to any person authorized by the inmate.
4. Refers the inmate to the desk officer.

F. Desk Officer - books the newly committed inmate in the jail blotter; assigns the inmate to a reception area,
if any, where he/she shall be scheduled for orientation on jail rules and regulation, and shall undergo risk
assessment and classification, evaluation and conduct of further medical evaluation/screening by the Medical
Officer.
G. Assistant Warden or Officer of the Day - Orients the newly committed inmates on jail rules and
regulations using the Inmate’s Orientation Sheet.
H. Jail Warden - Coordinates with concerned agencies regarding the case of inmates for speedy disposition
and to furnish them with copies of the available needed documents. The jail warden shall see to it that all
concerned agencies and persons will be informed of the commitment of the inmate in his/her jail by submitting
a written report. Through his/her paralegal officer, he/she shall ensure that the courts and prosecutors’ office
are attending to the case of the inmate by constantly coordinating with them for the purpose of speeding up
the disposition of the case. For this purpose, the sharing of non-confidential information with the concerned
agencies is encouraged.

CLASSIFICATION PROCESS
A. Admission of Inmate - Once the inmate has undergone the registration process; he/she will be
temporarily housed at the Inmate Classification and Counseling Unit (ICCU) in jails where it is available. The
inmate shall stay at the ICCU for a minimum period of thirty (30) days but not exceeding sixty (60) days or
until the completion of the classification process. At the ICCU, the newly committed inmate will undergo
assessment by the different health professionals.
B. Medical Examination - The jail medical Officer or the jail officer designated nurse of the Health Unit
will conduct a thorough physical examination on the newly committed inmate and will note down significant
bodily marks, scars, tattoos and lesions based on the medical certificate presented by the committing officer.
He or she must ensure that his/her findings are congruent to the medical certificate presented. Any
discrepancy shall warrant further investigation by and reporting of the same to the CHR. Results of the
medical examination shall be recorded and shall bear the signature of the physician or nurse who
conducted the examination. Medical issues will be attended to accordingly.
C. Dental Examination - The jail dentist shall perform a thorough dental examination and recording of his or
her findings. The record shall bear the signature of the dentist who conducted the examination. Dental issues
that
need immediate attention shall be attended to accordingly.
D. Psychological Examination - The jail psychologist-in-charge shall conduct psychological examination
to determine the inmate’s psychological state at the time of examination. Results will be recorded in the
psychologist’s logbook or in the health assessment card/HAS and shall bear the signature of the psychologist
who conducted the examination.
E. Social Case Study - The jail social worker at the ICCU shall conduct in-depth interview with the newly
admitted inmate, an interview that considers the "who the inmate is" from birth up to the present including
his/her familial, educational, social, vocational and other issues that has an impact on his/her personality.
The findings will be recorded and shall bear the signature of the social worker who conducted the
assessment. In jails without ICCU, the interview will be done by the social worker-in-charge upon the order of
the court or for specific purposes.

F. Risk Assessment - A risk assessment tool shall be utilized to determine the level of violence/risk the
inmate poses, either external or internal. This will help in the proper classification and segregation of inmates
and in the design of specific development plans.
G. Psychiatric Evaluation - Using the results of the psychological examination, social case study, and
risk assessment, the psychiatrist conducts a psychiatric evaluation to determine the present mental state of
the inmate and to diagnose any existing psychiatric illness for further treatment. The result will be recorded
and shall bear the signature of the psychiatrist who conducted the examination.
H. Case Management - Each inmate will be assigned to a specific case manager who may either be a
psychologist, a social worker, or a nurse. The case manager shall be responsible for the consolidation of all
the results and shall make the proper decision as to the classification of the inmates and the identification
development programs for each inmate.
I. Inmate Orientation and Counseling - While undergoing assessment, the inmate shall be oriented on the
basic jail rules and regulations. He/she shall be introduced to the different development programs that would
best promote his/her personal growth. In this phase, the newly committed inmate shall likewise undergo
counseling for him/her to develop better coping skills thereby preventing psychological imbalance in the early
phase of incarceration.
J. Inmate Evaluation and Classification - Using the different tools of assessment, the newly committed
inmate will now be classified based on the level of risk and present physical, mental, and emotional state.
K. Proper Cell Assignment and Development Plans - After the inmate has undergone all the assessments,
his/her case manager shall consolidate all the results. Based on the results of the final evaluation, the inmate
may then be assigned to the cell that is deemed best for his/her growth and well-being.
L. The newly committed inmate is encouraged to participate in the recommended development
programs.
M. Monitoring - After the inmate has been transferred to his/her assigned cell and has been attending the
prescribed development programs, the case manager shall periodically monitor, and change and enhance the
inmate’s development program/s depending on his or her behavioral progress.

DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE DISCIPLINARY BOARD – The Board is tasked to investigate the facts
of an alleged misconduct referred to it. It shall hold sessions as often as necessary in a room, which may be
provided for the purpose. All cases referred to it shall be heard and decided within forty-eight (48) hours from
the date of receipt of the case.
 NON-INSTITUTIONAL CORRECTIONS/COMMUNITY-BASED CORRECTION

Non-Institutional Corrections/Community-based correction - is a supervised program dealing with people

who have been convicted or are facing conviction. It includes probation, which involves offender supervision
under the control of the sentencing court, and an array of intermediate sanctions, in the form of programs that
provide greater supervision and treatment than the traditional probation but are less intrusive than
imprisonment.
The Goals of Community Correction Programs
1. The offender is punished and held accountable
2. Public safety is protected
3. Victims and local communities receive restitution from felons who work in their present jobs and/or in
restitution programs.
4. Community service work increases
5. Collection of court costs and fees increase due to contractual agreements with offenders who remain in
their present jobs.

Advantages of Non-Institutional Corrections

1. Cost issue. Offenders live at home, and in the small number of residential programs where the offender
lives at the facility, they help subsidize the cost of living. Offenders who remain in the community can continue
financially supporting themselves and their family through receiving wages and paying taxes. They are also
more likely than incarcerated offenders to compensate their victim through restitution and to complete
community service.
2. Community programs can ease jail and prison crowding by allowing convicted offenders the chance to
complete a drug program, boot camp, or other corrections program, and are thus another form of cost
savings.
3. Community corrections has flexibility of the programs in that they can be used at many points in the
criminal justice process.
4. Community corrections programs avoid exposing offenders to jail and prison conditions that may be
unsafe and at times even violent.

Disadvantages of Non-Institutional Corrections

The advantages of community-based corrections could also become its disadvantages. Drug programs and
boot camps might ease crowding by placing prison-bound offenders in a program that allows them the
chance to avoid incarceration, but such programs might also be filled with offenders who should have
received a less severe sentence.
This is a situation known as net widening, and it happens when judges and prosecutors fill the
program spaces with offenders who do not necessarily require such a high level of care or intervention rather
than the ones the program was designed for. Not only are prison-bound offenders not getting their chance to
be placed in appropriate programs and have access to services, but the cost of punishment increases.
Another disadvantage is that public safety may be compromised. Offenders are more easily able to
continue criminal behavior than if they were confined in jail or prison. Many community supervision
programs are disconnected from the various treatment services that exist to address the multitude of
problems offenders face. This becomes a disadvantage to an offender’s success when treatment attendance
is lacking because of transportation problems and inability to miss work.

FORMS OF COMMUNITY-BASED CORRECTIONS

Executive Clemency - the power of a President in state convictions, to pardon a person convicted of crime,
commute the sentence, or reduce it from death to another lesser sentence. Section 19 of Article VII of the
1987 Philippine Constitution authorizes the President of the Republic of the Philippines to grant not only
pardon but also reprieve, commutation of sentence, remission of fines and forfeitures, and amnesty.

Types of Clemency
A. Pardon
- An act of executive clemency by a head of state for the purpose of exempting an individual from the
punishment imposed upon him by a court of law.
- It is an act of grace, and the recipient is not entitled to it as a matter of right.
- Granted only after final conviction.
Kinds of Pardon
1. Absolute Pardon - granted by the Chief Executive without any conditions attached. Absolute pardon totally
extinguishes the criminal liability but not the right of the offended party to enforce the civil liability against the
offender.
2. Conditional Pardon- It is conditional when it is granted by the Chief Executive subject to the conditions
imposed on the recipient and accepted by him. Usually, the person granted with conditional pardon has
served a portion (at least ½ of the maximum of his indeterminate sentence) of his sentence in prison.

B. Commutation of Sentence
It is a change of the decision of the court made by the Chief Executive by reducing the degree of the penalty
inflicted upon the convict, or by decreasing the length of the imprisonment of the original sentence.

Purposes of Commutation
1. To break the rigidity of law.
2. To extend parole in cases where the parole law does not apply.
3. To save the life of a person sentenced to death.

What specific cases may be granted?

- When the convict sentenced to death is over 70 years of age;
- When justices of the Supreme Court failed to reach a decision for the affirmation of the death penalty;

C. Reprieve
Reprieve is a temporary stay of the execution of a sentence. It can only be exercised by the President
when the sentence has become final. Generally, reprieve is extended to death penalty prisoners. The date of
the execution of the sentence is set back several days to enable the Chief Executive to study the petition of
the condemned man for the commutation of sentence or pardon.

Limitations of the Pardoning power of the President

● It may not be exercised for offenses in impeachment cases (Art. VII, Sec. 10, Par. 2, Constitution of the
Philippines)
● It may be exercised only after conviction by final judgment;
● It may not be exercised over civil contempt (as for refusing to answer a proper question as a witness in a
case);
● In case of violation of election law or rules and regulations, no pardon, parole, or suspension of sentence
may be granted (Art. IX, Sec. 5, Par. C, The Commission on Election).
● It cannot be exercised to violate tax laws

Processes, Petition or Application and the Grant of Pardon

A petition for parole/executive clemency shall state the name of the prisoner, his age, previous
criminal record, if any, whether a Filipino citizen or an alien and, if a naturalized Filipino, his former nationality
and date of naturalization, his previous occupation, place of residence, present crime for which he was
convicted, the trial/appellate court, his penalty of imprisonment, fine, indemnity and the commencing date
thereof, the jail or prison to which he was committed and/or where he is presently confined, the date he was
received for confinement, the grounds upon which executive clemency is being asked and certification from
the trial court that his case is not on appeal.
In addition to the above-mentioned data, a petition for absolute pardon shall be under oath and shall
include the date the petitioner was released from prison after service of sentence or released on
parole/pardon or terminated from probation.

Referral of Petition for Absolute Pardon to a Probation and Parole Officer. — Upon receipt of a petition
for absolute pardon, the Board shall refer the petition to a Probation and Parole Officer who shall investigate
on the conduct and activities, as well as the social and economic conditions, of the petitioner prior to his
conviction and since his release from prison and submit a report thereof within fifteen (15) days from
receipt of the referral.

Judicial Clemency – Probation

Probation
It is a disposition under which a defendant, after conviction and sentence, is released subject to
conditions imposed by the court and to the supervision of a probation officer (P.D. No. 968, as amended).

It is releasing convicted offenders into the community under a conditional suspended sentence,
avoiding imprisonment for those offenders showing good behavior under the supervision of a probation officer.
 The word probation derives from the Latin word probatio, meaning a period of proving or trial and
forgiveness, from probare, past participle probatus.

Types of Probation
1. Juvenile Probation (PD 603)
2. Adult Probation (PD 968) - sentence is not more than 6 yrs. - 15 days to file an application for probation

Purpose of Probation
● To promote the correction and rehabilitation of an offender by providinghim with
individualized treatment;
● To provide an opportunity for the reformation of a penitent offender which might be less
probable if he were to serve a prison sentence; and
● To prevent the commission of offense.

The Benefits of Probation

Probation protects society:
- From the excessive costs of detention.
- From the high rate of recidivism of detained offenders.
Probation protects the victim:
- It provides restitution.
- It preserves justice.
Probation protects the family:
- It does not deprive the wife and children of husband and father.
- It maintains the unity of the home.
Probation assists the government:
- It reduces the population of prisons and jails.
- It lessens the clogging of courts.
- It lightens the load of prosecutors.
- It sustains law enforcement.
Probation helps the offender:
- It maintains his earning power.
- It provides rehabilitation in the community.
- It restores his dignity.
Probation justifies the philosophy of men:
- That life is sacred.
- That all men deserve a second chance.
- That an individual can change.
- That society has a moral obligation to lift the fallen.
Essential Elements of Probation
As provided for by the Probation Act of 1976 (PD 968), there are four essential elements of the Adult
Probation System:
1. A post-sentence investigation report which will serve as the informational basis for the court’s decision to
grant or deny probation. (Sec.5)
2. The conditional suspension of execution of sentences by the court. (Sec.4)
3. Conditions of probation imposed by the court to protect public safety and to foster the rehabilitation and
reformation of the probationer. (Sec.4)
4. Supervision, guidance, and assistance of the offender by a probation officer. (Sec. 15)

Disqualified Offenders under Sec. 9 P.D. No. 968

a. sentenced to serve a maximum term of imprisonment of more than six years;
b. convicted of any offense against the security of the State;
c. who has previously been convicted by final judgment of an offense punished by imprisonment of not less
than one month and one day and/or a fine of not less than Two Hundred Pesos;
d. who has been once on probation under the provisions of this Decree; and
e. who are already serving sentences.

Historical accounts of Probation

Forerunner of Probation
The ultimate purpose of every method of dealing with crime, including probation, is to prevent its
recurrence, but our deepening knowledge of causes and of underlying motivation has led us toward replacing
arbitrary punishment with reformative treatment. Probation was first legally established in the United
States, but to trace its origins one must turn to earlier schemes for humanizing criminal justice under the
common law of England. These procedures were brought over with the law and customs of England were
adapted by the colonists who settled the eastern shores of the United States.

Benefit of Clergy- The earliest device for softening brutal severity of punishment. The benefit of clergy was
originally a provision by which clergymen could claim that they were outside the jurisdiction of the secular
courts and be tried instead in an ecclesiastical court under canon law.

Judicial Reprieve- another device for modifying the severity of the law, was a temporary withholding of
sentence, much used by the early English judges. This practice grew up at a time when new trials or appeals
to another court were impossible under the common law, but it continued in use thereafter. Early in the 17th
century, with the establishment of settlements in America, English courts began to grant reprieves to prisoners
under sentence of death on condition that they accept deportation.

Recognizance- An even older method of suspending or deferring judgment, the direct ancestor of probation,
was recognizance or “binding over for good behavior”. It originated as a measure of preventive justice,
involving an obligation or promise, sworn to under court order by a person not yet convicted that he would
“keep the peace” and “be of good behavior”. This method of assuring good behavior was extended at an early
date to persons charged with or convicted of misdemeanors and was used in addition to or in substitution for
other punishment.

Transportation - grew from the ancient practice of banishment and flourished for more than two hundred
years as a principal method of disposing of offenders. At first, chiefly a way of ridding the country of criminals,
it later developed as a plan for supplying new colonies with cheap labor. A further economic factor was the
large profit of ship owners in transporting the convicts, but it was also an attempt to substitute for brutal
punishment at home an opportunity of rehabilitation in a new country. Offenders granted a reprieve were
permitted to accept transportation and were handed over to contractors who engaged to convey them to
America and later to Australia.

JOHN AUGUSTUS (1785-June 21, 1859) was a Boston boot maker who is called the "Father of Probation" in
the United States because of his pioneering efforts to campaign for more lenient sentences for convicted
criminals based on their backgrounds
MATTHEW DAVENPORT HILL - (6 August 1792 – 7 June 1872) was an English lawyer and penologist. The
Father of Probation in England.

PIONEER STATES OF PROBATION

● Massachusetts - developed the first statewide probation system in 1880
● Juvenile Probation 1899 – Minnesota and Illinois enacted laws giving probation service to children only.
● Rhode Island – 1st completely state-administered probation system appeared
● New Jersey – 4th state to adopt general probation law after the New England model in 1900.
● NEW YORK – 5th to provide adult probation
● California – 6th to enact adult probation law

PROBATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

August 7, 1935 – Philippine Legislature enacted the Probation Act (Act No. 4221). This law created the
Probation Office under the Department of Justice, led by a Chief Probation Officer.
November 16, 1937 – Supreme Court declared Act No. 4221 as unconstitutional in the case of People vs.
Vera 37 O.G. 164

Presidential Decree no. 968 – Probation Law of 1976

Signed into law on July 24, 1976, by former President Ferdinand Marcos
Effectivity: Jan. 3, 1978

Teodulo Natividad – “Father of Probation in the Philippines”, a former NAPOLCOM Commissioner and
former Congressman of Bulacan. Introduced adult probation in the country in House Bill No. 393 with
Congressman Ramon D. Bagatsing during their last months in Congress.

PROCESSES, PETITION OR APPLICATION AND THE GRANT OF PROBATION

Considerations for the Grant of Probation

 Probation may be granted whether the sentence imposes a term of imprisonment or a fine with
subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency. An application for probation shall be filed with the trial court,
with notice to the appellate court if an appeal has been taken from the sentence of conviction. The filing of
the application shall be deemed a waiver of the right to appeal, or the automatic withdrawal of a pending
appeal.
In the latter case, however, if the application is filed on or after the date of the judgment of the
appellate court, said application shall be acted upon by the trial court based on the judgment of the appellate
court. An order granting or denying probation shall not be appealable.

Probation is a mere privilege and as such, its grant rests solely upon the discretion of the court. It can
be granted only once.The grant of probation is not automatic. The offender has to apply for probation with
the sentencing court.

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 968 – The Probation Law of 1976.

Who may apply for Probation? Scope – the law applies to all offenders except those entitled to the benefits
under the provisions of Presidential Decree numbered Six Hundred and three and similar laws.
When to file a petition for probation? Any time after conviction and sentence, but within the period of
perfecting an appeal (15 days).
Where to file a petition for Probation? The trial court, which has jurisdiction over the case.
What are the legal effects of filing a petition for Probation?
1. Execution of the sentence is suspended.
2. It is a waiver of the right to appeal.

PAROLE AND PROBATION ADMINISTRATION OMNIBUS RULES ON PROBATION METHODS AND

PROCEDURES

These Rules shall be known and cited as the "Parole and Probation Administration Omnibus Rules on
Probation Methods and Procedures" or, for brevity, "Probation Rules" or simply "Rules".

Collateral Information - information gathered from those persons who have direct personal knowledge of the
applicant, offended party, family member, and/or their relatives, including barangay officials and disinterested
persons.

Absconding Applicant – an applicant failed to present himself/herself to the proper Office within seventy two
(72) hours from his/her receipt of the Probation Order or within reasonable time therefrom.
Post-Sentence Investigation report must be prepared by the investigating Probation Officer on case and
approved by the CPPO. Both shall initial each and all the pages thereof, except the last page on which they
shall affix their respective signatures.

Full Blown Courtesy Investigation (FBCI) is a General Courtesy Investigation (GCI) from another City or
Provincial Parole and Probation Office which requests for a complete PSIR on a petition for probation pending
referral investigation in the Probation Office of origin. It shall take place when upon initial investigation it is
gathered that,
(a) Applicant for probation is a transient offender in the place of commission of the crime and/or a permanent
resident of another place;
(b)He spent his pre-adolescent and/or adolescent life in the province or city of origin;
(c)He attended and/or finished his education thereat; and
(d)His immediate family members, collateral informants or disinterested persons and officials who can best
authenticate the inter-family relationship, upbringing, behavior of the applicant for probation in the community
are residents of the place of his origin.

Supervision of probationers shall commence on the day of initial interview or reporting of a probationer.
Such facts shall be duly noted in the case notes of the client.

Initial Report - (a)Upon the probationer's appearance for his initial supervision, the Supervising Probation
Officer on case, or CPPO himself shall:
i) give instructions to the client using PPA Form 4 (Statement under oath signed by the petitioner that he
understands the conditions of his probation and that he undertakes to comply with said conditions) in order to
reinforce probationer’s awareness of the probation conditions specified in the Probation Order in a language
or dialect understood by him;
ii) formulate with the client, the supervision treatment plan; and
iii) carry out other related activities
(b)Upon receipt of a copy of PPA Form No. 4, and a copy of the Probation Order on a particular
probationer the Probation Office through the CPPO shall immediately assign the probation supervision case to
his subordinate Probation Officer.
In the event that the probationer does not report for initial supervision within the prescribed period after the
Probation Order has been released by the Trial Court, or his whereabouts are unknown, the Probation Officer
shall exert his best efforts to find said probationer and conduct such field inquiry as is necessary within a
reasonable period of time, before considering the fact that the subject has absconded amounting to a violation
of a probation condition, requiring the preparation and submission of a Violation Report (PPA Form 8) to the
Trial Court.
Outside Travel. –
(a)A Probation Officer may authorize a probationer to travel outside his area of operational/territorial
jurisdiction for a period of more than ten (10) days but not exceeding thirty (30) days.
(b)A Probationer who seeks to travel for up to thirty (30) days outside the operational/territorial jurisdiction of
the Probation Office shall file at least five (5) days before the intended travel schedule a Request for Outside
Travel (PPA Form 7) with said Office properly recommended by the Supervising Probation Officer on case
and approved by the CPPO.
(c) If the requested outside travel is for more than thirty (30) days, said request shall be recommended by the
CPPO and submitted to the Trial Court for approval.
(d) Outside travel for a cumulative duration of more than thirty (30) days within a period of six (6) months shall
be considered as a courtesy supervision.

Change of Residence: Transfer of Supervision–

(a)A Probationer may file a Request for Change of Residence (PPA Form 24) with the City or
Provincial Parole and Probation Office, citing the reason(s) therefore this request shall be submitted by the
Supervising Probation Office for the approval of the Trial Court.
(b) In the event of such approval, the supervision and control over the probationer shall be transferred to the
concerned Executive Judge of the RTC, having jurisdiction and control over said probationer, and under the
supervision of the City or Provincial Parole and Probation Office in the place to which he transferred.
Thereafter, the Executive Judge of the RTC to whom jurisdiction over the probationer is transferred shall have
the jurisdiction and control with respect to him which was previously possessed by the Court which granted
probation.
(c)The receiving City or Provincial and Parole and Probation Office and the receiving court shall be duly
furnished each with copies of the pertinent Probation Order, PSIR (PPA Form 3), and other investigation and
supervision records by the sending Probation Office for purposes and in aid of continuing effective probation
supervision treatment over said probationer.

Termination of the probation supervision case

The probation supervision period may be terminated on any of the following grounds:
(a)successful completion of probation;
(b)probation revocation for cause under Section 49 (a-c) of these Rules;
(c)death of the probationer;
(d)early termination of probation; or
(e)other analogous cause(s) or reason(s) on a case-to-case basis as recommended by the probation Office
and approved by the trial court.

Termination Report. - The City and Provincial Parole and Probation Office shall submit to the Trial Court a
Probation Officer’s Final Report (PPA Form 9) thirty (30) days before the expiration of the period of probation
embodying, among others, the following:
(a)brief personal circumstances of the probationer;
(b)brief criminal circumstances about his case (i.e. criminal case number, court, branch, period of probation,
initial and last date of probation) (c)prescribed probation treatment and supervision program; (d)probationer's
response to the treatment plan/program; (e)recommendation to discharge the probationer from probation and
the restoration of all his civil rights. (f)such other relevant and material facts and information which may be
required by the Trial Court
Final Discharge. - After expiration of the original or extended probation period and based on due
consideration of the POs final report, the Trial Court may order the final discharge of the probationer upon
finding that he has fulfilled the probation terms and conditions and, thereupon, the probation supervision case
is deemed terminated.
CLOSING OF THE PROBATION CASE
Point in Time- After actual receipt of the Termination Order finally discharging the probationer, the Probation
Office shall formally close the probation case and keep the client's case file.
Mode- Immediately after such closure of the probation case, the corresponding probation records shall be
archived, but not after the proper reporting is done.

Amnesty
Definition of Amnesty
A general pardon extended to a group of persons generally exercised by the Chief Executive with the
concurrence of congress.

When to avail amnesty? Amnesty can be availed of before, during and after the trial of the case, even after
conviction.
Number of those who can avail amnesty? It is a blanket pardon granted to a group of prisoners, generally
political prisoners.

Effect of amnesty is an act of forgetfulness. i.e. it puts into nothingness the offense of which
one is charged so that the person acts as if he had never committed the offense.
Crime committed Amnesty is for crimes against sovereignty of the state (ex. political offense)

Consent of congress Amnesty is by proclamation with concurrence of congress, and it is a public act,
which the court should take judicial notice.

Kinds of Amnesty
1. Express Amnesty- is one granted in direct terms such as Presidential proclamation, or a law enacted by
the legislature granting amnesty.
2. Implied Amnesty- takes place in international law when a treaty of peace is made between contending
parties; in domestic or municipal law, it results from the inhibition of the state from prosecuting or punishing
persons who committed political offenses, or when the law punishing a certain crime is repealed with
retroactive effect resulting in the decriminalization of the act and the release of those charged or convicted for
the same. Example: Congress recent repeal of R.A. 1700, known as the Anti-Subversion Law
3. General Amnesty- is granted to a whole class of persons within the territorial domain or under the effective
jurisdiction of the sovereign issuing the decree.
4. Selected or Limited Amnesty- covers a segment of a particular class only or the portion of the sovereign’s
territorial jurisdiction, or specific acts committed within a limited or specified time frame.
5. Conditional Amnesty- when the grant of amnesty is subject to the fulfillment of certain requisites, such as
the filling of an application, the laying down of arms, and the taking of an oath of allegiance.
6. Unconditional Amnesty- expressed in broad terms and does not lay down specific requirements and
procedures

Parole

Origin of Parole
The English word parole is derived from the French parole d’honneur, meaning “word of honor”. The French
seem to prefer the term conditional liberation to the one borrowed from their language. In 1791, during the
French Revolution, the Comte de Mirabeau (HonoreGabriel Rigueti) anticipated modern penal theories when
he published a report based on the idea of reformation, which emphasized the principles of labor, segregation,
rewards under a mark system, conditional liberation, and aid on discharge. Another Frenchman, Bonneville de
Marsangy, public prosecutor of Versailles, published a book in 1847 in which he discussed conditional
liberation, police supervision of discharged convicts, aid upon discharge, and rehabilitation. This book was
distributed by the government to the members of both chambers of Parliament (Wines, 1919).
Parole as a practice originated almost simultaneously with three European prison administrators: a Spaniard,
Manuel Montesimos; a German, Georg Michael Obermaier; and an Englishman, Alexander Maconochie.

Alexander Maconochie
Chief credit for developing early parole systems, however, goes to Alexander Maconochie, who was in charge
of the English penal colony on Norfolk Island.

MARK SYSTEM
In 1837 Alexander Maconochie proposed a marks system by which “marks” or credits would be credited
daily to prisoners in accordance with their behavior and the amount of labor they performed. As prisoners’
demonstrated evidence of good behavior and a good work ethic, their freedom and privileges gradually
increased. Marks were deducted for negative behavior. Maconochie’s system allowed prisoners to move
from strict imprisonment to labor in work gangs, through conditional release around the island, and finally to
complete restoration of liberty.

NORFOLK ISLAND
Maconochie was given the opportunity to test his mark system in 1840 when he was appointed
superintendent of the notorious penal colony on Norfolk Island. The island was known to have 2, 000 of the
most incorrigible convicts; they had been sent there from other prisons in Britain and Ireland because they
had committed crimes of violence while incarcerated (a “supermax” of the 1800’s). Within a span of four years,
Maconochie’s system and humane treatment of the prisoners transformed their horrific lives into a peaceful
orderly existence. Maconochie discontinued flogging and chain gangs and introduced adequate food, health
care, disciplinary hearings and reading material.
Despite Maconochie’s successes, many influential colonists in Australia, who believed that convicts
should be kept in irons and flogged, saw Maconochie’s treatment of prisoners as radical and lobbied the
governor for Maconochie’s dismissal. Maconochie was dismissed in 1844, and his experiment ended abruptly.
As free settlers in Australia increased in number, they protested the use of the country as a dumping ground
for prisoners. In 1867 transportation of prisoners from England to Australia was terminated.
The years following saw an outbreak of crime and prison riots in England, which were attributed to
poor prison administration and the lack of supervision of the ticket-of-leave men. The British public thus came
to regard the ticket-of-leave system as a menace to public safety. A royal commission was appointed to
investigate both areas, and the report resulted in policemen being given responsibility for supervising released
prisoners. Later, several prisoner aid societies, supported in part by the government, were established.

Sir Walter Crofton and the Irish System

Sir Walter Crofton, who had studied Maconochie’s innovations on Norfolk Island, became the
administrator of the Irish prison system in 1854. Crofton adopted the use of the marks system inside
prison. Under Crofton’s administration, the Irish system became renowned for its three levels: strict
imprisonment, indeterminate sentence, and ticket-of-leave. Each prisoner’s classification was determined
by the marks he or she had earned for good conduct and achievement in industry and education, a concept
borrowed from Maconochie’s experience on Norfolk Island.
The ticket-of-leave system was different from the one in England. The general written conditions of
the Irish ticket-of-leave were supplemented with instructions designed for closer supervision and control and
thus resembled the conditions of parole in the United States today. Ticket-of- leave men and women residing
in rural areas were under police supervision, but a civilian employee called the inspector of released prisoners
supervised those living in Dublin. The inspector had the responsibility of securing employment for the ticket-of-
leave person, visiting the residence, and verifying employment. The Irish system of ticket-of- leave had the
confidence and support of the public and of convicted criminals.

Development of Parole in the United States

In the United States, parole was first tried in New York at Elmira Reformatory in 1876. Federal parole began
in June 1910 because of legislation that established the first three federal penitentiaries. In 1930, a formalized
federal parole board was created under the U.S. attorney general’s office. In 1950, because of a larger prison
population in the federal system, the parole board expanded and was placed under the Justice Department.

Four concepts justified the development of parole in the United States: (1) reduction in the length of
incarceration as a reward for good conduct, (2) supervision of the parolee, (3) imposition of the indeterminate
sentence, and (4) reduction in the rising cost of incarceration.

Zebulon R. Brockway and the Indeterminate Sentence

In 1865 American penal reformers were aware of the reforms achieved by the conditional release
programs of the Irish system. As a result, an indeterminate sentence law was adopted in 1876 in New
York with the help of prison superintendent Zebulon R. Brockway. The system established at Elmira
included grading inmates on their conduct and achievement, compulsory education, and careful selection for
parole. Volunteer citizens, known as guardians, supervised the parolees. A condition of parole was that
parolees report to the guardian the first day of each month. Written reports became required and were
submitted to the institution after being signed by the parolee’s employer and guardian. By 1944, every U.S.
jurisdiction had adopted some form of parole release and indeterminate sentence.

PAROLE
Parole – The suspension of the sentence of the convict after serving the minimum term of the intermediate
penalty, without being granted a pardon, prescribing the terms upon which the sentence shall be suspended.

- May be given after the prisoner has served the minimum penalty; it is granted by the Board of Pardons and
Parole under the provisions of the Indeterminate Sentence Law.

Disqualification for Parole - The following prisoners shall not be granted parole:
1. Those convicted of an offense punished with Death penalty, Reclusion Perpetua or Life imprisonment.
2. Those convicted of treason, conspiracy, or proposal to commit treason or espionage.
3. Those convicted of misprision of treason, rebellion, sedition or coup d'etat;
4. Those convicted of piracy or mutiny on the high seas or Philippine waters.
5. Those who are habitual delinquents i.e. those who, within a period of ten (10) years from the date of release
from prison or last conviction of the crimes of serious or less serious physical injuries, robbery, theft, estafa
and falsification, are found guilty of any of said crimes a third time or oftener;
6. Those who escaped from confinement or evaded sentence.
7. Those who were granted Conditional Pardon and violated any of the terms thereof;
8. Those whose maximum term of imprisonment does not exceed one (1) year or those with definite
sentences;
9. Those suffering from any mental disorder as certified by a government psychiatrist/psychologist;
10. Those whose conviction is on appeal;
11. Those who have pending criminal case/s

Distinction between Indeterminate and Determinate Sentence

An Indeterminate sentence is distinguished from a determinate sentence when the sentence provides for a
minimum period and a maximum period, which characterizes an indeterminate sentence, while determinate
has only one period in the sentence of the court. Usually, the gap in the periods in the sentence of the court is
wide enough to permit the Board of Pardons and Parole to study and act on the parole petition of any prisoner
who is qualified for parole.

Effects of Parolee’s Good Behavior

If during surveillance such a parole prisoner shall show himself to be a law-abiding citizen and shall not violate
any of the laws of the Philippine Island, the Board of Indeterminate Sentence may issue a final certificate of
release in his favor, which shall entitle him to the final release and discharge.

Violation of the Parole Conditions by Parolee: it’s Effect

Whenever a prisoner released on parole by virtue of this act, shall during the period of surveillance,
violate any condition of his parole, the Board of Indeterminate Sentence may issue an order for his re-arrest,
which may serve in any part of the Philippines Islands by any police officer. In such a case the prisoner so re-
arrested shall serve the remaining unexpired portion of the maximum sentence for which he was originally
committed to prison, unless the Board of Indeterminate Sentence shall grant a new parole to the said prisoner.

Advantages of Parole
1. Parole provides a transitional period between the regimentation of institution life and the freedom of
normal life in the community.
2. Parole permits an administrative agency to decide when an offender should be released.
3. Parole reduces the periods of institutionalization.
4. Parole makes it possible to release an offender at the time when he is mentally and emotionally
ready to return to the community.
5. The parole officer can overt influence for the prevention of delinquencyand crime.

6. Parolees have the opportunity to support themselves and their dependents, thus receiving the state
of this responsibility, and to make restitution to the victims of their crimes.
7. It costs less to keep an offender on parole than to maintain him in a correctional institution.

Essential Elements of Parole

● That the offender is convicted;
● That he served part of his sentence in prison;
● That he is release before the full expiration of his sentence;
● That the said release is conditional, defending on his good behavior; and
● That he remains on parole until expiration of his maximum sentence.

Eligible for Parole

A prisoner is eligible for the grant of parole unless, otherwise disqualified, upon showing that is
confined in jail prison to serve an indeterminate prison sentence, the maximum period of which exceeds one
(1) year, pursuant to final judgment of conviction and that he has served the minimum period of sentence less
the good conduct time allowance earned.

Discharge on Parole
A prisoner may be granted a “discharge on parole” whenever the Board finds that there is reasonable
probability that if released, the prisoner will be law-abiding and that his release will not be incompatible with
the interest and welfare of the society.
Parole and Probation Administration (PPA) and Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP)
The Probation Administration was created by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 968, “The
Probation Law of 1976”, to administer the probation system.
Under Executive Order No. 292, “The Administrative Code of 1987” which was promulgated on
November 23, 1989, the Probation Administration was renamed “Parole and Probation Administration”
and given the added function of supervising prisoners who, after serving part of their sentence in jails are
released on parole pardon with parole conditions.
Effective August 17, 2005, by virtue of a Memorandum of Agreement with the Dangerous Drugs
Board, the Administration performs another additional function of investigating and supervising first-time
minor drug offenders who are placed on suspended pursuant to Republic Act No. 9165.

The PAROLE AND PROBATION ADMINISTRATION - (PPA) is an attached agency of the Department of
Justice which provides a less costly alternative to imprisonment of offenders who are likely to respond to
individualized community-based treatment programs.

Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP) - The Board of Pardons and Paroles releases prisoners on parole and
recommends the grant of presidential pardons.
The Board shall be composed of the following:
Secretary OF JUSTICE as the Chairman
The administrator of the 5 parole and probation administration as the vice chairman

six (6) members consisting of the

 DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS,
 a Sociologist; or a psychologist; or a clergyman;
 an educator; or and
 a member of the Philippine Bar:
Provided, that at least one of them is a woman. Provided further, that, at the absence of the chairman,
the vice-chairman shall preside. The members of the board shall be appointed by the President upon the
recommendation of the Secretary and shall hold office for a term of six (6) years, without prejudice to
appointment."

Forms of early release

Early release can take a few forms. These vary from measures that range from relaxations of the
prison regime that allow the prisoner a limited amount of access to free society through conditional release in
the community to early unconditional release. Only conditional release in the community is genuinely a matter
of putting something in place of imprisonment, but all these strategies are relevant to the wider objective of
reducing the use of imprisonment. The Tokyo Rules also adopts a wide-range approach to this issue. The
official Commentary on the Tokyo Rules observes that the Rules relating to the post-sentencing stage deal
with “measures to reduce the length of prison sentences or to offer alternatives to enforcing prison sentences.”
Rule 9.2 lists “post-sentencing dispositions” that should be available to achieve these objectives. They are
Furlough and halfway houses; Work or education release; Various forms of parole; Remission; and
Pardon.

Total and Partial Extinction of Criminal Liability

Criminal liability refers to responsibility for a crime and the penalty society imposes for the crime.

Total extinction of criminal liability - means that the entire penalty is extinguished, and there is no more
criminal liability.
Causes of Total Extinction of Criminal Liability
1. By death of the convict
2. By service of the sentence;
3. By amnesty,
4. By absolute pardon
5. By prescription of the crime
Article 90. Prescription of crimes. – Crimes punishable by death, reclusion perpetua
or reclusion temporal shall be prescribed in twenty years.
● Crimes punishable by other afflictive penalties shall be prescribed in fifteen years.
● Those punishable by a correctional penalty shall prescribe in ten years; with the exception
of those punishable by arresto mayor, which shall prescribe in five years.
● The crime of libel or other similar offenses shall be prescribed in one year.

● The offenses of oral defamation and slander by deed shall be prescribed in six months.
 ● Light offenses prescribed in two months. When the penalty fixed by law is a compound one,
the highest penalty shall be made the basis of the application of the rules.

6. By prescription of the penalty

Computation of the prescription of penalties. – The period of prescription of penalties shall
commence to run from the date when the culprit should evade the service of his sentence, and it shall
be interrupted if the defendant should give himself up, be captured, should go to some foreign country
with which this Government has no extradition treaty, or should commit another crime before the
expiration of the period of prescription.

7. By marriage of the offended woman, as provided in Article 344 of this Code.

Marriage of the offender with the offended woman after the commission of any of the crimes of rape,
seduction, abduction or acts of lasciviousness, as provided in Article 344, must be contracted by the offender
in good faith. Hence marriage contracted only to void criminal liability is devoid of legal effects.

Partial Extinction of Criminal Liability - It is a partial extinction because there remains liability although it is
lessened by conditional pardon, commutation of sentence, parole, probation and for good conduct earned by
the offender while serving his sentence.

Relevant provisions of the law on Allowance for Good Conduct, and Special Time Allowance for loyalty for
PDLs under PNP, NBI, BJMP, Provincial Jails, BUCOR and others.

Good conduct time allowance (GCTA) may be granted to an inmate who displays good behavior and who
has no record of breach of discipline or violation of prison rules and regulations.

GCTA of Detainee life termer- a detainee shall only be granted CGTA if he voluntarily offers in writing to
perform such labor as may be assigned to him. In such a case, the credit he may receive shall be deducted
from sentence as may be imposed upon him if he is convicted. An inmate sentenced to life imprisonment shall
not be granted GCTA while his sentence is on appeal.

Revocation/Restoration of GCTA- GCTA once granted shall not be revoked without just cause. The GCTA,
which an inmate is deprived of because of misconduct, may be restored at the discretion of the Director upon
the recommendation of the Superintendent.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10592 “AN ACT AMENDING ARTICLES 29, 94, 97, 98 AND 99 OF ACT NO.
3815, AS AM ENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE REVISED PENAL CODE”

SECTION 1. Article 29 of Act No. 3815, as amended, otherwise known as the Revised Penal Code, is
hereby further amended to read as follows:
SEC. 3. Article 97 of the same Act is hereby further amended to read as follows:
“ ART. 97. Allowance for good conduct. – The good conduct of any offender qualified for credit for preventive
imprisonment pursuant to Article 29 of this Code, or of any convicted prisoner in any penal institution,
rehabilitation or detention center or any other local jail shall entitle him to the following deductions from the
period of his sentence:
“1. During the first two years of imprisonment, he shall be allowed a deduction of twenty days for each
month of good behavior during detention;
“2. During the third to the fifth year, inclusive, of his imprisonment, he shall be allowed a reduction of
twenty three days for each month of good behavior during detention;
“3. During the following years until the tenth year, inclusive, of his imprisonment, he shall be allowed a
deduction of twenty-five days for each month of good behavior during detention;
“4. During the eleventh and successive years of his imprisonment, he shall be allowed a deduction of
thirty days for each month of good behavior during detention; and
“5. At any time during the period of imprisonment, he shall be allowed another deduction of fifteen
days, in addition to numbers one to four hereof, for each month of study, teaching or mentoring service time
rendered.
“An appeal by the accused shall not deprive him of entitlement to the above allowances for good conduct.”

“ART. 98. Special time allowance for loyalty. – A deduction of one fifth of the period of his sentence shall be
granted to any prisoner who, having evaded his preventive imprisonment or the service of his sentence under
the circumstances mentioned in Article 158 of this Code, gives himself up to the authorities within 48 hours
following the issuance of a proclamation announcing the passing away of the calamity or catastrophe referred
to in said article. A deduction of two-fifths of the period of his sentence shall be granted in case said prisoner
chose to stay in the place of his confinement notwithstanding the existence of a calamity or catastrophe
enumerated in
Article 158 of this Code.
“This Article shall apply to any prisoner whether undergoing preventive imprisonment or serving sentence.”

“ ART. 99. Who grants time allowances. – Whenever lawfully justified, the Director of the Bureau of
Corrections, the Chief of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and/or the Warden of a provincial,
district, municipal or city jail shall grant allowances for good conduct. Such allowances once granted shall not
be revoked.

THERAPEUTIC MODALITIES
 Treatment Programs of Convicted Persons placed under Non-Institutional corrections

To affect the rehabilitation and reintegration of probationers, parolees, pardonees, and first-time minor drug
offenders as productive, law-abiding, and socially responsible members of the community through
1. well-planned supervision programs for probationers, parolees, pardonees, and first-time minor drug
offenders which are aligned to national program thrusts of the government, such as, the Sariling- Sikap, Jail
Decongestion, etc.
2. establishment of innovative and financially and technically feasible projects for the moral, spiritual, and
economic upliftment of probationers, parolees, pardonees, and first-time minor drug offenders utilizing
available community resources.

Scope and Beneficiaries:

All offenders granted probation, parole, pardon and suspended sentence. The Administration has adopted a
harmonized and integrated treatment program for these clients to effect their rehabilitation. This harmonized
and integrated program involves:
(1) Therapeutic Community Modality
(2) The Restorative Justice Principles and Concepts and
(3) The Use of Volunteer Probation Aides (VPAs).

Therapeutic Community Modality is a self-help social learning treatment model used for clients with
problems of drug abuse and other behavioral problems such as alcoholism, stealing, and other anti-social
tendencies. As a treatment model, it includes four (4) categories, namely, behavior management,
intellectual/spiritual aspect, emotional and social aspects, and vocational/survival aspects. In this regard, the
Therapeutic Community Modality provides a well-defined structure for a synchronized and focused
implementation of the various intervention strategies/activities undertaken by the Agency such as:

1. Individual and group counseling - This activity intends to assist the clients in trying to sort out their
problems, identify solutions, reconcile conflicts, and help resolve them. This could be done either by
individual or group interaction with the officers of the Agency.
2. Moral, Spiritual, Values Formation - Seminars, lectures or training offered or arranged by the Agency
comprise these rehabilitation activities. Active NGOs, schools, civic and religious organizations are tapped to
facilitate the activities.
3. Work or Job Placement/Referral - Categorized as an informal program wherein a client is referred for
work or job placement through the officer’s own personal effort, contact or information.
4. Vocational/Livelihood and Skills Training - The program includes the setting up of seminars and skills
training classes like food preservation and processing, candle making, novelty items and handicrafts making,
etc., to help the clients earn extra income. Likewise, vocational and technical trade classes are available such
as refrigeration, automotive mechanics, radio/television and electronics repairs, tailoring, dressmaking, basic
computer training, etc. through coordination with local barangays, parish centers, schools and civic
organizations.
5. Health, Mental and Medical Services - To address some of the basic needs of clients and their families,
medical missions are organized to provide various forms of medical and health services including physical
examination and treatment, free medicines and vitamins, dental examination and treatment, drug dependency
test and laboratory examination. Psychological testing and evaluation as well as psychiatric treatment are
likewise provided for by the Agency’s Clinical Services Division and if not possible by reason of distance,
referrals are made to other government accredited institutions.
6. Literacy and Education - In coordination with LGU programs, adult education classes are available to help
clients learn basic writing, reading and arithmetic. Likewise, literacy teach-ins during any sessions conducted
for clients become part of the module. This is particularly intended for clients who are “no read, no write” to
help them become functionally literate. Likewise, linkages with educational Foundation, other GOs and NGOs
are regularly done for free school supplies, bags and uniforms for client’s children and relatives.
7. Community Service - This program refers to the services in the community rendered by clients for the
benefit of society. It includes tree planting, beautification drives, cleaning and greening of surroundings,
maintenance of public parks and places, garbage collection, blood donation and similar socio-civic activities.
8. Client Self-Help Organization - This program takes the form of cooperatives and client associations
wherein the clients form cooperatives and associations as an economic group to venture on small-scale
projects. Similarly, client associations serve another purpose by providing some structure to the lives of clients
where they re-learn the basics of working within a group with hierarchy, authority and responsibility much like
in the bigger society.
9. Payment of Civil Liability - The payment of civil liability or indemnification to victims of offenders are
pursued despite the economic status of clients. Payment of obligations to the victims instills in the minds of the
clients their responsibility and the consequences of the harm they inflicted to others.
10. Environment and Ecology - To instill awareness and concern in preserving ecological balance and
environmental health, seminars/lectures are conducted wherein clients participate. These seminars/lectures
tackle anti-smoke belching campaigns, organic farming, waste management, segregation and disposal and
proper care of the environment.
11. Sports and Physical Fitness - Activities that provide physical exertion like sports, games and group play
are conducted to enhance the physical well-being of clients. Friendly competition of clients from the various
offices of the sectors, together with the officers, provide an enjoyable and healthful respite.

The success of the Therapeutic Community treatment model is also anchored on the implementation
of restorative justice. To highlight the principles of Restorative Justice, offenders are recognized to
indemnify victims and render community services to facilitate the healing of the broken relationship
caused by offending the concerned parties. Mediation and conferencing are also utilized in special cases to
mend and/or restore clients’ relationship with their victim and the community.
Considering that it is in the community that the rehabilitation of clients takes place, the utilization of
therapeutic community treatment models coupled with the principles of restorative justice would be further
energized with the recruitment, training, and deployment of Volunteer Probation Aides (VPAs).
The VPA program is a strategy to generate maximum participation of the citizens in the community-
based program of probation and parole. Through the VPAs, the substance of restorative justice is pursued
with deeper meaning since the VPAs are residents of the same community where the clients they supervise
reside. Thus, it is practicable for the volunteers to solicit support for clients’ needs and assist the field officers
in supervising the probationers, parolees, and pardoners.
The Therapeutic Community treatment modality, Restorative Justice paradigm and deployment
of VPAs integrated into one rehabilitation program have yielded tremendous outcomes in the rehabilitation
and reformation of probationers, parolees, pardonees, and first-time minor drug offenders. Furthermore, the
Agency believes that the client’s family is a major part or support in the rehabilitation process, thus the
Administration adopts the Integrated Allied Social Services program to address the needs of the children and
other minor dependents of the clients. Under the said program, interventions relative to the growth and
development of the minor dependents are done to help them become productive, law-abiding and effective
individuals.

Jail/Prison Facility as Therapeutic Community (TC)

The Philippine Prison System has adopted “Therapeutic Community Modality Program” or TCMP
as a new approach to inmate management that requires new glossary of terms relative to felons and
introduction of a new way of life in confinement As set by the BJMP, the Therapeutic Community is a self-
help social learning treatment model used to client with problems of drug abuse and other behavioral
problems such as alcoholism, stealing and other anti-social tendencies as well as working with special group
of individual like those in jails. As a treatment model, it includes four categories, namely behavior
management, intellectual and spiritual aspects, emotional and psychological aspects and vocational or
survival aspects.
Therapeutic Community utilizes the “community” as a vehicle to foster behavioral and attitudinal
change. In this model, the client receives the information and impetus to change from being part of the
community. The expectation that the community places on its individual members reflects not only the needs
of individuals, but also the social and support needs of the community. This community mode provides social
expectations, which are parallel to the social demands that the clients will confront upon discharge to their
home community. Historically, the term "therapeutic community" (TC) has been used for several different
forms of treatment - sanctuaries, residential group homes and even special schools - and for several different
conditions, including mental illness, drug abuse and alcoholism.
As defined by the Bureau of Correction, the Therapeutic Community (TC) Program
represents an effective, highly structured environment with defined boundaries, both moral and ethical. The
primary goal is to foster personal growth. This is accomplished by reshaping an individual’s behavior and
attitudes through the inmates’ community working together to help themselves and each other, restoring self-
confidence, and preparing them for their reintegration into their families and friends as productive members of
the community.

Therapeutic Community Modality is being implemented and includes all the programs being exercised
inside the jail such as education, sport, religion, and livelihood skill training. They give medical services to
monitor the inmates’ health condition, especially those who have health problems. They also offered
alternative learning systems at the elementary and high school level. And every fourth Sunday of the month,
they have a regular mass. All those programs are being implemented to change the inmates’ vision in life.

The Staging of Corrections-Based TC Treatment

 The most appropriate strategy for effective TC intervention with inmates would involve a three-stage
process (Inciardi, Lockwood and Martin 1991). Each stage in this regimen of treatment would correspond to
the inmate's changing correctional status - incarceration, work release, and parole (or whatever other form of
community-based correction operates in each jurisdiction).

The primary stage should consist of a prison-based therapeutic community designed to facilitate
personal growth through the modification of deviant lifestyles and behavior patterns. Segregated from the rest
of the penitentiary, recovery from drug abuse and the development of prosocial values in the prison TC would
involve essentially the same mechanisms seen in community based TCs. Therapy in this primary stage
should be an on-going and evolving process. Ideally, it should endure for 9 to 12 months, with the potential for
the resident to remain longer, if necessary. As such, recruits for the TC should be within 18 months of their
work release date at the time of treatment entry. It is important that TC treatment for inmates begin while they
are still in the institution, for several reasons. In a prison situation, time is one of the few resources that most
inmates have an abundance of. The competing demands of family, work, and the neighborhood peer group
are absent. Thus, there is the time and opportunity for comprehensive treatment -- perhaps for the first time in
a drug offender's career. In addition, there are other new opportunities presented -- to interact with "recovering
addicts'' role models; to acquire pro-social values and a positive work ethic; and to initiate a process of
education, training, and understanding of the addiction cycle. Graduates of prison based TCs are at a special
disadvantage in a traditional work release center since they must live and interact in what is typically an anti-
social, nonproductive setting. Without clinical management and proper supervision, their recovery can be
severely threatened. Thus, secondary TC treatment is warranted.

This secondary stage is a "transitional TC" -- the therapeutic community work release center. The
program composition of the work release TC should be like that of the traditional TC. There should be the
"family setting" removed from as many of the external negative influences of the street and inmate cultures
as is possible; and there should be the hierarchical system of ranks and job functions, the rules and
regulations of the environment, and the complex of therapeutic techniques designed to continue the process
of resocialization. However, the clinical regimen in the work release TC must be modified to address the
correctional mandate of "work release."

In the tertiary stage, clients will have completed work release and will be living in the free community
under the supervision of parole or some other surveillance program. Treatment intervention in this stage
should involve out-patient counseling and group therapy. Clients should be encouraged to return to the work
release TC for refresher/reinforcement sessions, to attend weekly groups, to call on their counselors on a
regular basis, and to participate in monthly one-to-one and/or family sessions. They should also be required to
spend one or more days each month at the program, and a weekend retreat every three months.

Different types of therapy

 behavioral,
 cognitive, and
 emotional

1. Behavioral Therapy fosters positive demeanor and conduct by not accepting antisocial actions. To
implement this, behavioral expectations are clearly defined as soon as a new resident is admitted to the
program. At that time, the staff's primary focus is on how the resident is to behave. The client works with an
orientation manual which he is expected to learn thoroughly. Once again, the focus is on his behavior as
opposed to thoughts and feelings. As the client learns and adjusts to the routines of the therapeutic
community, more salient issues are dealt with in the treatment process.
2. Cognitive Therapy helps individuals recognize errors and fallacies in their thinking. The object is to help
the client understand how and why certain cognitive patterns have been developed across time. With this
knowledge the client can develop alternative thinking patterns resulting in more realistic decisions about life.
Cognitive Therapy is accomplished in both group and individual sessions.
3. Emotional Therapy deals with unresolved conflicts associated with interactions with others and the
resulting feelings and behaviors. To facilitate this treatment strategy, a nonthreatening but nurturing manner is
required so that clients can gain a better understanding of how they think and feel about themselves as well
as others.

Several techniques are employed to implement these three alternative therapeutic approaches and to
motivate individuals to change, including transactional analysis, psychodrama, and branch groups. involves a
detailed assessment of the roles that one plays in interactions with others. The ego states affecting behavior
are defined in terms of "parent," "adult," and "child."

Through group and Transactional analysis individual sessions, clients are taught how to recognize which
ego state they typically select for certain interactions and the effects of allowing their behavior to be controlled
by that ego state.
In the psychodrama, individuals relive and explore unresolved personal feelings and thoughts. Through this
process, clients are helped to bring to closure unresolved issues which have prevented them from developing
more adequate life-coping skills. Group and individual sessions are used as the vehicle for this treatment.

In branch groups, clients meet on a routine basis to share both feelings and thoughts about the past and
present. In-depth thoughts and feelings are dealt with so that there can be a better understanding of how a
person is perceiving his world. With this understanding, he is in a better position to develop more adequate
coping skills.

The KEY Arena - is a prison-based therapeutic community for male.

The KEY Village - is a prison-based therapeutic community for women.

CREST Outreach Center - it represented the first dedicated work release TC in the nation, and it was
designed to incorporate stages 2 and 3 of the treatment process outlined above. The treatment regimen at
CREST Outreach Center follows a 5-phase model over a 6-month period.

Phase One is composed of entry, assessment and evaluation, and orientation, and lasts approximately two
weeks. New residents are introduced to the house rules and schedules by older residents. Each new
resident is also assigned a primary counselor, who initiates an individual needs assessment. Participation in
group therapy is limited during this initial phase, so that new residents can become familiarized with the norms
and procedures at CREST.

Phase Two emphasizes involvement in the TC community, including such activities as morning meetings,
group therapy, one-on-one interaction, confrontation of other residents who are not motivated toward
recovery, and the nurturing of the newer people in the environment. During this phase, residents begin to
address their own issues related to drug abuse and criminal activity, in both group sessions and during one-
on-one interactions. As well, they begin to take responsibility for their own behaviors by being held
accountable for their attitudes and actions in group settings and in informal interactions with residents and
staff. Residents are assigned job functions aimed at assuming responsibility and learning acceptable work
habits, and they continue to meet with their primary counselors for individual sessions. However, the primary
emphasis in Phase Two is on becoming an active community member through participating in group therapy
and fulfilling job responsibilities necessary to facility operations. This phase lasts approximately eight weeks.

Phase Three continues the elements of Phase Two, and stresses role modeling and overseeing the working
of the community daily (with the support and supervision of the clinical staff). During this phase, residents are
expected to assume responsibility for themselves and to hold themselves accountable for their attitudes and
behaviors. Frequently, residents in this phase will confront themselves in group settings. They assume
additional job responsibilities by moving into supervisory positions, thus enabling them to serve as positive
role models for newer residents. They continue to have individual counseling sessions, and in group sessions
they are expected to help facilitate the group process. Phase Three lasts for approximately 5 weeks.

Phase Four initiates preparation for gainful employment, including mock interviews, seminars on job seeking,
making the best appearance when seeing a potential employer, developing relationships with community
agencies, and looking for ways to further educational or vocational abilities. This phase focuses on preparing
for re-entry to the community and lasts approximately two weeks. Residents continue to participate in group
and individual therapy, to be responsible for their jobs in the CREST facility. However, additional seminars
and group sessions are introduced to address the issues related to finding and maintaining employment and
housing as well as returning to the community environment.

Phase Five involves "re-entry," becoming gainfully employed in the outside community while continuing to live
in the work release facility and serving as a role model for those at earlier stages of treatment. This phase
focuses on balancing work and treatment. As such, both becoming employed and maintaining a job are
integral aspects of the TC work release program. During this phase, residents continue to participate in house
activities, such as seminars and social events. They also take part in group sessions addressing issues of
employment and continuing treatment after leaving CREST. In addition, residents begin to prepare to leave
CREST. They open a bank account and begin to budget for housing, food, and utilities. At the end of
approximately 7 weeks, which represents a total of 26 weeks at CREST Outreach Center, residents have
completed their work release commitment and are free to live and work in the community as program
graduates.

The CREST Outreach Center community is composed of women and men at a variety of stages of
treatment. Through this interaction, newer residents are given hope and encouragement for changing their
lifestyles and the older residents can assess their own changes and become positive role models. Moreover,
beginning in Phase Two, residents are encouraged to engage family and significant others in the treatment
process through family and couples’ groups led by CREST counselors. Because most CREST graduates
have probation and parole stipulations to follow after their period of work release, an ufiercure component was
developed to ensure that graduates fulfilled probation parole requirements. This represents the tertiary phase
of treatment, providing continued treatment services to decrease the risk of relapse and recidivism. This
aftercare program endures for six months, and requires total abstinence from illegal drug use, one two-hour
group session per week, individual counseling as scheduled, and urine monitoring. Graduates must return
once a month to serve as role models for current CREST clients.

TREATMENT PROGRAMS FOR PDL IN THE BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS

Work and Livelihood

The Bureau offers a variety of inmate work programs, from agricultural to industrial. The purpose of
the inmate work program is to keep the inmates busy, and to provide them money for their personal expenses
and their families as well as help them acquire livelihood skills, in order that they may become productive
citizens once they are released and assimilated back into the mainstream of society. Different prison and
penal farms provide institutional work programs for inmates. At the Davao Penal Colony, inmates work on the
banana plantations of Tagum Development Company (TADECO) which has a joint venture agreement with
the Bureau. Similarly, the vast tracts of land at the Iwahig Penal Colony are developed and tilled by inmates to
produce various agricultural products, thereby generating income for the Bureau. The Sablayan Prison and
Penal farm also provides agriculture and aquaculture programs for inmates. Along this end, the Bureau under
the present Director has encouraged agricultural and industrial production by providing farming implements,
tractors, fertilizers, and other inputs in order to sustain this area of rehabilitation for inmates.

Healthcare Services
Upon his initial commitment to the Reception and Diagnostic Center (RDC), the inmate’s medical
history is recorded and properly documented by the Medical Specialist. Medical information and mental status
examinations are given to ascertain his overall physical / mental fitness and whether he would be fit for work.
This forms part of the diagnostic process which will eventually determine the most appropriate rehabilitation
program for the inmate. The principal medical care of inmates is provided through a 500-bed capacity hospital
at the New Bilibid Prisons and at six (6) other mini- hospitals or clinics in the six (6) other prison and penal
farms. All correctional facilities have a full and competent staff of medical practitioners in charge of clinics,
infirmaries and hospitals. These centers are capable of minor surgical operations, laboratory
examinations, radiology, psychiatric, rehabilitation and dental treatment. Other government and private
hospitals are also tapped in the implementation of standards pertaining to nutrition and protective health
services for the prison community. Medical services also include a wide range of counseling techniques and
therapy programs which address the psychological problems of inmates, including suicidal thoughts and
feelings of rejection which may lead to disruption of peace and order within the prison compounds. When an
inmate’s ailment is beyond the competence of the in-house medical doctors, the inmate is referred to a
government hospital in accordance with prison rules and under proper security escorts.

Education and Skills Training

Rehabilitation can be facilitated by improving an inmate’s academic and job skills. Records show that
many prisoners are poorly educated. A majority are elementary school dropouts or have not even finished
primary school. Prison education amounts to remedial schooling designed to prepare inmates to obtain basic
skills in reading, writing and mathematics. In most correctional facilities, vocational programs are incorporated
into job assignments and serve as on-the-job training. The goal is to provide inmates with skills that will
improve their eligibility for jobs upon release. Most prison vocational training is geared toward traditional blue-
collar employment in areas such as electronics, auto mechanics and handicrafts. At the Reception and
Diagnostic Center, a basic computer literacy course with typing as a support course is available for inmates
who have finished at least high school level.
Vocational training and social education focus on job readiness. The concern in these areas is life
skills. If inmates are to reenter society and abstain from criminal activity, they must be employable and have
the basic tools necessary to function as responsible citizens.
The National Penitentiary has a college degree program and a tertiary degree correspondence course, in
addition to the regular secondary and compulsory basic literacy classes. Prisoners are strongly encouraged
by the BuCor authorities to enroll while serving their sentence and to advance their academic skills.

Sports and Recreation

The inmates enjoy sunrise by participating in daily calisthenics. There are various indoor and outdoor
sports activities, programs, tournaments and leagues all year round, to include basketball, volleyball, billiards,
table tennis and chess. These sports competitions promote camaraderie among inmates, good
sportsmanship, and team building. The latest addition is the newly constructed indoor sports
center/gymnasium at the Maximum-Security Compound which boasts of competition-standard flooring, sound
system, locker rooms and bleachers.
 All prison and penal farms have adequate recreational facilities for inmates, both for outdoor and
indoor sports. Mini-bodybuilding gyms are available in most prison facilities, including the Muntinlupa Juvenile
Training Center and the Therapeutic Community Center for inmates with drug cases.
For music lovers and musically inclined inmates, numerous "videoke" centers are available. Musical
instruments are available for practice or for use in variety shows.

Moral and Spiritual Program

Inmates enjoy freedom of religion. All inmates are free to observe the rituals of their faith, with orderly
conduct supervised by prison authorities. A religious guidance adviser or chaplain is assigned in every prison
and penal farm. The prison chaplain sets the stage for every regular spiritual activity. He is an officer of the
institution who oversees the operation of the prison chapel. He is not only the spiritual leader but also a
counselor and adviser. Prisoners may be baptized or given other sacraments. Religious Volunteer Officers, or
RVOs belonging to different church groups provide weekly religious activities ranging from bible studies,
devotions, prayer meetings or praise and worship. With a predominantly Roman Catholic prison population, a
Catholic Mass is a regular feature in spiritual activities of the prison communities. Restrictions, however, are
imposed if, in the course of religious activities, security is compromised, or a program is too expensive.

Therapeutic Community
The Therapeutic Community (TC) Program represents an effective, highly structured environment with
defined boundaries, both moral and ethical. The primary goal is to foster personal growth. This is
accomplished by re-shaping an individual’s behavior and attitudes through the inmate’s community working
together to help themselves and each other, restoring self-confidence, and preparing them for their
reintegration into their families and friends as productive members of the community. Patterned after Daytop
TC, New York which is the base of the Therapeutic Community movement in the world, the BuCor TC
program was adopted as part of the Bureau's holistic approach towards inmate rehabilitation. It is
implemented primarily but not limited to drug dependents. The TC approach has been continuously proven
worldwide as an effective treatment and rehabilitation modality among drug dependents and have been noted
to be effective in many prisons. By immersing a drug offender in the TC environment, he learns why he had
developed his destructive habits, which led him to substance abuse. The program modifies negative behavior
and or attitudes while restoring self-confidence and prepares inmates for their reintegration into their families
and friends as productive members of the community. This behavioral modification program gradually re-
shapes or re-structures the inmate within a family-like environment, wherein every member acts as his
brother’s keeper. As TC family members go on with their daily activities, a strong sense of responsibility and
concern for each other’s welfare are developed. They are constantly being monitored for their progress and
are regularly being evaluated by the TC-trained staff. The TC process allows for genuine introspection,
cultivation of self-worth and positive rationalization that move the individual towards assuming a greater sense
of personal and moral responsibility. The efforts of the Bureau of Corrections to rehabilitate Drug dependents
under its care using the TC approach is in line with its commitment to create a Drug-Free Prison. Worldwide
developments in the treatment and rehabilitation of drug offenders using this therapeutic community approach
have been noted to be effective in many prisons.

TREATMENT PROGRAMS FOR PDL IN THE BUREAU OF JAIL MANAGEMENT AND PENOLOGY

Major Programs
There are four (4) major programs under the mandate of BJMP and they are the following:
1. PDL custody, security, and control program.
2. PDL welfare and development program.
3. Decongestion program.
4. Good governance.

Core Programs
A. Provisions of Basic Needs
All PDL under custody are provided with three (3) meals (breakfast, lunch, and supper). Adequate
supply of potable water is made available to them at all times. Likewise, upon admission, each PDL is issued
his or her PDL uniform consisting of the yellow shirt and brown jogging pants. Hygiene kits are also distributed
to the PDL on a monthly or quarterly basis. Occasionally, the provision of basic needs for the PDL is
supplemented by the food and non-food donations from local government units, non- government
organizations, business sector and private individuals.

B. Health Services
Health services for PDL consist of interventions towards the prevention, promotion, treatment of
illnesses and rehabilitation. All PDL undergoes medical assessment upon admission. During confinement,
PDL are provided with health education and counseling, medical consultations, regular health monitoring, and
provided medicines subject to availability. To maintain the physical health of PDL, they are allowed daily
sunning and physical exercises.
C. Educational Program
The educational program aims to provide opportunities for PDL to achieve mandatory education. For
this reason, BJMP adopted the Alternative Learning System (ALS) of the Department of Education for the PDL
to earn their elementary and high school diplomas. Teachers in the jail-based ALS are BJMP Personnel who
are professional teachers and trained on the Instructional Method for ALS. In jails where there are no
personnel trained to handle ALS classes, the ALS teachers would be coming from the Department of
Education. All PDL enrolled in the ALS earn their respective Time Allowance for Teaching, Studying and
Mentoring (TASTM) pursuant to RA 10592.

D. Skills Training/ Enhancement Program

The objective of the skills training program is to equip the PDL with technical/vocational skills which
they can use in seeking employment or starting their own business after release from confinement. To make
the PDL as competitive as other potential job seekers, the skills training preferred are those accredited by the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) so that the PDL will be able to earn National
Certifications. Thus, only the PDL who meet the eligibility requirements of the specific skills training program
being offered can participate.

E. Livelihood Program
The livelihood program presents income-generating activities to PDL during their confinement where
they can earn for their personal upkeep and for financial support to their families. The capital for the livelihood
project is either from BJMP for BJMP-funded projects or from the common fund of a group of PDL for non-
BJMP funded projects. Examples of continuing and most popular livelihood projects of PDL are bags
and purses, bonsai made of beads, pastries, rugs, paper crafts, and wood crafts. To help the PDL earn from
these livelihood projects, the jail unit Welfare and Development Officer (UWDO) facilitates the sale of the
products in display centers or livelihood caravans organized by the local government units and other service
providers. In addition, online or e-marketing of PDL products is also run by the jail unit Welfare and
Development Office.

F. Behavioral Management/ Modification Program

BJMP implements the Therapeutic Community Modality Program (TCMP) to manage and modify
behaviors of PDL with the goal of positively changing their thinking and behavior through structured group
processes. The program endeavors to teach and model positive thinking, pro-social values, good decision-
making, and positive coping. Through the program, PDL are trained on socially acceptable ways of behaving
and relating with their fellow PDL and with personnel and visitors thereby fostering a therapeutic jail
environment and maintaining a peaceful communal atmosphere.

G. Interfaith Program
PDL are provided with the opportunity to practice their faith while under custody without
discrimination, subject only to usual safety and security measures. The BJMP chaplains and imams provide
different religious services such as but not limited to mass celebrations, communal prayers, spiritual
counseling, catechism, and others. Religious organizations and their respective ministers/pastors and leaders
are accredited by BJMP to facilitate their regular contact with PDL for the provision of religious services.

H. Cultural and Sports Program

The cultural program aims to promote camaraderie among PDL, encourage the development of self-
confidence and sharing of cultural talents as a form of positive entertainment. Cultural activities allowed in jails
include dance, singing, theatre/drama, and art workshops. Also, through this program, PDL experiences some
sense of social normalcy through the communal celebrations of socio-cultural events like birthdays,
Valentine’s Day, Mothers’ and Fathers’ Day, Christmas, Lent and Easter, Ramadan, local festivals, and other
similar activities.

I. Paralegal Program
The main objective of the Paralegal Program is to address the overcrowding in jail facilities. Through
the paralegal program, PDL are assisted in availing of the different early modes of release. Regional and jail
paralegal officers conduct continuous informative seminars/orientations to PDL on their rights, modes of early
release, and other paralegal/legal remedies which can be availed of by them. Other paralegal services include
paralegal counseling and case follow-up in the courts by the jail paralegal officers.

J. E-Dalaw
 The E-DALAW service is an alternative to the traditional face-to-face visitation between PDL and
respective families. This service enables the PDL to connect with his/her family through a supervised video
call and chat. The program is conceptualized specifically to cater to PDL whose family members cannot go to
the jail for actual visit because of the long distance to the jail from the residence or workplace of the family
members. However, in case of jail lockdown by reason of public health emergency where visitation is
suspended, all PDL are allowed to use the e-dalaw to communicate with their families on an equitable rotation
basis.

Support Services

A. Human Rights Desks

Every jail facility operates a 24-hour Human Rights Desk handled by a designated Human Rights
Affairs Officer. The main function of the Human Rights Desk is to receive complaints concerning human rights
violations from PDL and visitors and to report the complaints thru the appropriate reporting system to the
concerned BJMP offices and to the Commission on Human Rights for investigation and appropriate action.

B. Help Desk
In line with the government’s policy of providing timely and speedy access to government services,
each jail facility has established its own Help Desk managed by a designated Held Desk Officer. The Help
Desk functions as a referral unit where PDL and visitors can lodge their request for assistance concerning
personal or family needs. These requests are evaluated by the Help Desk Officer and all requests for
assistance that cannot be addressed by the jail are referred to the concerned government agencies for
appropriate action.

C. Referrals for Aftercare

Although BJMP recognizes the importance of an aftercare program for PDL to be released for them to
start anew, it is limited only to providing welfare and developmental programs to PDL while they are in
custody. Nevertheless, to ensure continuity of care of PDL upon release, the jail unit Welfare and
Development Officer facilitates referrals to different community resources. These referrals addressed to the
local government units, non- government organizations and the business sector usually include but are not
limited to seeking immediate financial assistance for PDL’s repatriation, employment/livelihood assistance,
educational/vocational training scholarships, medical and psychological interventions.

Special Program for Vulnerable Groups

A. Services for Pregnant PDL

Pregnant PDL, by reason of their medical condition, are given special attention by the jail nurses to
ensure compliance to prenatal and postnatal care, timely provision of other pregnancy-related needs, and
assistance for the care of the newborn until the latter is endorsed to the immediate family or accredited child-
caring agency.

B. Services for Senior Citizen PDL and PDL with Disabilities

In addition to implementing measures to protect the senior citizen PDL and PDL with disabilities from
discrimination and establishing functional priority lanes for them, the primary policy is to link them to the local
Office of Senior Citizen Affairs Office (OSCA) and Person with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) for the
acquisition of their respective Identification Cards. The respective identification cards issued by the local
government unit are the PDL’s access key to the different services for senior citizens and persons with
disabilities mandated by the Senior Citizens Act and Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities.

C. Services for PDL with other Special Needs

PDL who are members of the LGBT community may be segregated from the general population in
terms of housing to prevent potential mistreatments towards them by reason of their gender expression and
other vulnerabilities. Nevertheless, they receive the same programs and services provided to the general
population and they are encouraged to participate fully in the socio-cultural activities of the jail.

D. Mental Health Services

In general, preventive mental health aimed at reducing incidence of mental health disorders and
developing positive coping mechanisms are provided to all PDL. Preventive mental health interventions
include informative seminars on stress management, psycho-educational counseling, and other supportive
psychological group activities. Likewise, psycho-social support services or stress debriefing to address trauma
are facilitated for PDL after the occurrence of untoward jail incidents or in the aftermath of devastating
calamities directly affecting the PDL.
E. Drug Counseling for PDL with Substance use Disorder.
PDL with substance use disorder or have a history of illegal drug use and who were granted plea
bargaining under A.M. No. 18-03-16 SC, are provided with drug counseling using the Katatagan Kontra Droga
sa Komunidad (KKDK) approach. The KKDK is a psycho-educational drug counseling program developed
consisting of twenty-four (24) modules: eighteen (18) modules to be completed by the PDL in a small group
setting with fellow PDL and six (6) family modules to be participated by the PDL’s family. The drug counseling
runs for a maximum duration of four (4) months.