On May 10, 2024, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) through its Directorate for External Relations (DER) spearheaded by CT/SUPT NOEL M MARQUEZ, CT/INSP STELLA MAY C LAT, and the External Affairs Sections of all Operating Prisons and Penal Farms (OPPFs) organized a culminating activity for the release of 174 Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs), which are part of the 1000 total releases from April 01 to May 10, 2024 with the theme “Madilim man ang Kahapon, Pag-asa’y Muling Aahon sa mga Repormasyong Napapanahon,” held at the National Headquarters, New Bilibid Prison (NBP) Reservation, Muntinlupa City, including all other OPPFs.
Among the notable figures who attended the program as invited were BuCor Director-General GREGORIO PIO P CATAPANG JR., AFP (Ret.), CESE, CCLH, HON. ALMARIM C TILLAH, AL HAJ, Presidential Adviser on Muslim Affairs, ASEC FRANCIS JOHN L TEJANO of the Department of Justice (DOJ), ATTY REVELYN RAMOS- DACPANO, Head Executive Support Staff of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), ATTY GARY CAMITAN AURE, Deputy Executive Director of the Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP), ATTY RACHEL D RUELO BPP, MR ADELINO P. SUYU JR, Chief Probation Officer of Muntinlupa Parole and Probation Administration (PPA), and MR REY D SANGLAY, Officer-in-Charge, Chief of TSSD-EPWW, Department of Labor and Employment-National Capital Region (DOLE-NCR).
The BuCor Director General, GENERAL CATAPANG JR stated in his message that the planned regionalization will include the construction of facilities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. He also mentioned the planning of a tie up of the BuCor with DOLE and TESDA to provide a Post-PDL Program that will help the PDLs be relevant, sustainable, and respectable upon their return to the free society. Furthermore, the BuCor Director General thanked all the offices whose continuous support allowed the success of the Culminating Activity.
The total number of released PDLs was a result of the simultaneous culminating program from the different OPPFs consisting of 540 – at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), 69 – at Leyte Regional Prison (LRP), 57 – at Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm (SPPF), 45 – at Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF), 58 – at Correctional Institution for Women (CIW), Mandaluyong City, 151 – at Davao Prison and Penal Farm, and 80 – at San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm (SRPPF).
The Management Screening Evaluation Committee (MSEC), the PDL Documents and Processing Division, and the Separation Center Office of all OPPFs contributed to the event’s success as well, particularly in terms of expediting the documents and facilitating PDL’s release from their respective prison camps.
Under the direction of Director General GREGORIO PIO P CATAPANG JR, AFP (Ret.), CESE, CCLH, in order to carry out the directives of His Excellency President FERDINAND R. MARCOS, JR., and with the invaluable assistance and support of SOJ REMULLA in order to decongest prison facilities, the culminating activity was realized.
Ms. Michelle Angela N. Andrada
Contributor
