DILG mulling BJMP, BuCor integration to streamline prison system

DILG Sec. Jonvic Remulla. INQUIRER.net file photo / RYAN LEAGOGO

MANILA, Philippines — Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla announced plans to integrate the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) on Wednesday.

Remulla said this in a statement, in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to streamline resources and address jail congestion.

“It is a proposal, a work in progress, and one that will be done in consultation with you,” Remulla said at BJMP’s 34th Anniversary Celebration in Quezon City.

READ: Jail-congestion-stands-at-298-percent-down-from-600-percent-says-bjmp

“You must know what we are doing, how we are doing it, and be part of the integration,” he added.

Remulla noted that the country’s jail congestion rate dropped from 314 percent in 2024 to 296 percent this year. He also reported that the BJMP extended paralegal assistance to over 85,000 PDLs and declared 230 facilities drug-free and 77 others drug-cleared following surprise inspections.

“The job of BJMP is to keep the country safer, to rehabilitate, and to ensure PDLs can return as contributing members of society. What you do matters,” he said.

Education and livelihood remain at the core of BJMP’s rehabilitation efforts, according to Remulla.

More than 10,700 PDLs have completed basic education, while 107 earned college degrees through the College Education Behind Bars (CEBB) program. At least 66,000 joined livelihood programs that generated P116.7 million in gross income.

One of the beneficiaries, former PDL Marissa Basa, is now employed at a city hall.

“This is who I am now, no longer like before. I’m happy because it’s my first time to have a job,” she said in Filipino.

Remulla said the DILG would continue supporting BJMP’s mandate to protect, reform and empower persons under its care. /mr