MANILA — The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) has continued its nationwide prison decongestion drive by transferring another 200 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) from the overcrowded New Bilibid Prison (NBP) to the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City.
According to BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr., the latest relocation forms part of a broader initiative to improve prison conditions while advancing plans for the eventual closure of the New Bilibid Prison.
Since Catapang took over the agency in 2022, a total of 16,530 inmates have been transferred from the NBP to various Operating Prison and Penal Farms around the country.
He said dispersing inmates to other correctional facilities helps reduce congestion, improve security, and provide better opportunities for rehabilitation in a more suitable environment.
Catapang noted that the program is intended to create safer and more humane detention facilities while enhancing the effectiveness of correctional services.
The latest transfer was completed under the supervision of a 70-member escort contingent from the NBP, according to Chief Superintendent Gary Garcia.
The San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm had earlier received 500 inmates in March as part of the same relocation effort.
Garcia said BuCor has so far relocated 1,909 PDLs this year, with the bureau targeting the transfer of 7,000 inmates to prisons and penal farms nationwide by the end of 2026.
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