P55 billion more: Can building more prisons solve overcrowding?
In 2023, nearly half of new inmates were repeat offenders. Although the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) have worked to improve postrelease support, the underlying causes of recidivism remain largely unaddressed.
Both congestion and societal attitudes contribute to recidivism. The Commission on Audit’s 2024 report states that nearly 70 percent of Philippine jail facilities are congested, with overcrowding rates reaching 2,141 percent. In such conditions, persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) often face daily violence due to scarce resources and limited supervision, and many must sleep in shifts on bathroom floors or stairwells because of insufficient space. The United Nations has reported that negative societal attitudes toward released inmates create further barriers and stress during reintegration.
The government plans to construct regional penitentiaries to reduce overcrowding by improving PDL-to-cell ratios and complying with constitutional detention mandates. However, this approach risks being a band-aid solution, requiring a necessity and feasibility analysis to ensure its sustainability as an effective long-term solution.
Expanding facilities without tackling these systemic inefficiencies may just perpetuate a cycle of recidivism, congestion, and construction.
The proposal also faces significant financial, administrative, and logical challenges. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said constructing 11 new correctional facilities would demand a P55 billion government investment, while the BuCor budget allocates only P676 million for buildings and structures. Staffing these facilities with adequately trained personnel will also be difficult given uncompetitive wages, and logistical hurdles, such as acquiring land and addressing local community resistance, may delay construction.
Long-term solutions to recidivism and overcrowding require reforms that address root causes. The government should strengthen the Parole and Probation Administration to expand the use of probation and parole rather than relying solely on imprisonment. The United States Courts have found probation and parole to be cost-effective strategies that significantly reduce recidivism and allow resources to be redirected to other essential sectors.
Current rehabilitation and reintegration programs for PDLs, including increasing daily medical allowances, ensuring Philippine Health Insurance Corp. coverage, and providing reformation and orientation activities for persons restored of liberty, should also be strengthened.
The government should also raise public awareness about challenges in the judiciary and the rehabilitative purpose of imprisonment. Increasing youth awareness of the judicial system can foster interest in legal careers, thus addressing professional shortages in the legal field and reducing case backlogs that contribute to overcrowding, while a supportive environment for released inmates aids reintegration.
It is time to rethink focus and adapt measures that would root a humane justice system and society, where detention is reserved for those who pose a genuine threat to public safety and there is no dehumanization occurring within the walls of a severely crammed prison cell. In another thought, allocating billions in construction could be just yet another version of flood control.
Sofia Theresa Pequieras,
Ateneo de Manila University
For letters to the editor and contributed articles, email to opinion@inquirer.net
