BuCor moves 200 inmates to Mindoro

THE Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said on Monday it transferred 200 inmates from the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City to the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro.

BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang, Jr. said the transfer forms part of preparations for the planned closure of the New Bilibid Prison in 2028.

The latest relocation is part of BuCor’s ongoing redistribution of inmates across its prison facilities and penal farms nationwide.

Earlier this month, the bureau said 15,730 inmates from the New Bilibid Prison have been transferred to various correctional facilities since 2022, including a batch of 100 inmates moved to the Leyte Regional Prison.

The bureau has said it plans to continue relocating inmates to prison facilities and penal farms nationwide as part of efforts to reduce the inmate population ahead of the closure of the New Bilibid Prison.

Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm, one of BuCor’s major prison facilities, has been identified as among the destinations for transferred inmates under the relocation program.

The New Bilibid Prison is the country’s oldest and largest prison complex and has long faced congestion, aging infrastructure, and security concerns, prompting plans to redistribute inmates to other facilities. — Mark Joseph M. Sanchez