DOJ reconstitutes TWG for transfer of Bilibid inmates

The Department of Justice has reconstituted a technical working group (TWG) for the transfer of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City to regional correctional facilities.

Under Department Order 208-2024, the TWG's marching orders cover the transfer of NBP inmates and the implementation of Republic Act 11928, otherwise known as the Separate Facility for Heinous Crimes Act.

Section 5 of the law provides that a facility "shall be established and maintained" in a "separate, secure, and sanitary penitentiary for the custody and safekeeping of PDLs convicted of heinous crimes" serving in prison facilities of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla signed the department order on April 8.

The TWG is co-chaired by Justice Undersecretary for Corrections Deo Marco and BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr., while Justice Assistant Secretary Francis John Tejano serves as vice chair.

Its members are officials and representatives from BuCor, NBP, the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro, and the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City.

Representatives from the Department of Public Works and Highways and the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime shall also be invited as TWG external members.

"Ideally, this project aims to establish a facility in a suitable location away from the general population and other PDLs, preferably within a military establishment or an island separate from the mainland," the DOJ said.

For his part, Remulla said that the state of the country's prison system reflects the efficiency of the state.

"In reforming those who have transgressed our laws, we should consider not only the welfare of the PDLs but the security and well-being of our community as well," Remulla said in a statement.

BuCor is seeking to transfer all PDLs out of the NBP. Catapang previously expressed hope that there would be no more PDLs in the facility by 2028.

Last February, a total of 459 PDLs from NBP were transferred to the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. — VDV, GMA Integrated News