AN ACT STRENGTHENING THE BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS (BUCOR) AND PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR

Fifteenth Congress

Third Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-third day of July, two thousand twelve.

REPUBLIC ACT No. 10575

AN ACT STRENGTHENING THE BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS (BUCOR) AND PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as "The Bureau of Corrections Act of 2013″.

Section 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is the policy of the State to promote the general welfare and safeguard the basic rights of every prisoner incarcerated in our national penitentiary. It also recognizes the responsibility of the State to strengthen government capability aimed towards the institutionalization of highly efficient and competent correctional services.

Towards this end, the State shall provide for the modernization, professionalization and restructuring of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) by upgrading its facilities, increasing the number of its personnel, upgrading the level of qualifications of their personnel and standardizing their base pay, retirement and other benefits, making it at par with that of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

Section 3. Definition of Terms. –

Section 4. The Mandates of the Bureau of Corrections. – The BuCor shall be in charge of safekeeping and instituting reformation programs to national inmates sentenced to more than three (3) years.

Section 5. Operations of the Bureau of Corrections. – (a) The BuCor shall operate with a directorial structure. It shall undertake reception of inmates through its Directorate for Reception and Diagnostics (DRD), formerly Reception and Diagnostic Center (RDC), provide basic needs and security through its Security and Operations Directorates, administer reformation programs through its Reformation Directorates, and prepare inmates for reintegration to mainstream society through its Directorate for External Relations (DER), formerly External Relations Division (ERD).

(b) The DRD shall be responsible for the conduct of classification of each and every inmate admitted to the BuCor. Inmates shall be classified according to security risk and sentence. Included in the classification is determining inmate’s certain skills or talents, physical, spiritual, social, mental and psychological evaluation and other behavioral assessments, as reference of the DRD in the preparation of individual inmate reformation programs.

(c) Aside from those borne of the provisions under Rule 8, Part I, Rules of General Application of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and that of the existing regulation of the BuCor on security classification (i.e. maximum, medium and minimum security risk), inmates shall also be internally classified by the DRD and segregated according to crimes committed based on the related penal codes such as Crimes Against Persons, Crimes Against Properties, Crimes Against Chastity, so on and so forth, as well as by other related Special Laws, Custom and Immigration Laws.

(d) From the DRD, the Custodial Force and Reformation Personnel of respective security institutions/camps shall be in charge for the security and the implementation of the recommended inmate reformation program of each and every inmate while serving sentence, respectively.

(e) The Directorate for External Relations (DER) shall be responsible for pre-release and post-release programs of inmates due for release. The DER shall also classify inmates according to skills acquired for referral and endorsement to appropriate companies or corporations participating in the BuCor On-The-Job Training Programs for newly reformed inmates. The DER shall also evaluate, classify and apply necessary programs to inmates for readiness to join the mainstream society upon release.

(f) Apart from handling inmates, the BuCor shall administratively operate like a standard government agency through its Administrative Directorates with internal control and internal audit units.

(g) The BuCor shall employ full computerization in the build-up, maintenance and transmittal of necessary inmate records to all its Prison and Penal Farms and other recipient agencies (i.e. Board of Pardons and Parole).

Section 6. Lands of the Bureau of Corrections. – (a) Aside from administrative purposes, all BuCor lands shall be used for inmate security, reformation programs and as a means to promote sustainability, both for income and non-income generating programs, with or without partnership among nongovernment organizations, civic organizations or other government entities.

(b) As a way to maximize its assets’ value for the effective and extensive reformation (corrections) programs for national inmates, the BuCor shall have the absolute authority to design, formulate and implement land-use development plans and policies.

(c) The BuCor may propose additional penal farms as may be necessary as possible, aside from its existing seven (7) prison and penal farms to decongest existing penal institutions and accommodate the increasing number of inmates committed to the agency.

(d) All BuCor lands shall have a Certificate of Title registered under its name.

Section 7. Facilities of the Bureau of Corrections. – The BuCor shall operate with standard and uniform design of prison facilities, reformation facilities and administrative facilities, through all the operating prison and penal farms, such as the following:

Section 8. Supervision of the Bureau of Corrections. – The Department of Justice (DOJ), having the BuCor as a line bureau and a constituent unit, shall maintain a relationship of administrative supervision with the latter as defined under Section 38(2), (), except that the DOJ shall retain authority over the power to review, reverse, revise or modify the decisions of the BuCor in the exercise of its regulatory or quasi-judicial functions.

Section 9. Organization and Key Positions of the Bureau of Corrections. – (a) The BuCor shall be headed by a Director who shall be assisted by three (3) Deputy Directors: one (1) for administration, one (1) for security and operations and one (1) for reformation, all of whom shall be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Secretary of the DOJ: Provided, That the Director and the Deputy Directors of the BuCor shall serve a tour of duty not to exceed six (6) years from the date of appointment: Provided, further, That in times of war or other national emergency declared by Congress, the President may extend such tour of duty.

(b) The Head of the BuCor, with the rank of Undersecretary, shall have the position and title of Director General of Corrections. The second officers in command of the BuCor, with the rank of Assistant Secretary, shall have the position and title of Deputy Directors of Corrections. The third officer in command of the BuCor, with the rank of Chief Superintendent, shall have the position and title of Corrections Chief Superintendent. The fourth officer in command of the BuCor, with the rank of Senior Superintendent, shall have the position and title of Corrections Senior Superintendent. The fifth officer in command of the BuCor, with the rank of Superintendent, shall have the position and title of Corrections Superintendent.

(c) The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) shall rationalize the existing organizational structure and staffing pattern of the BuCor in accordance with the provisions of this Act and relevant compensation and position classification laws, rules and regulations.

Section 10. Increase of Personnel. – The BuCor shall maintain the custodial personnel-to-inmate ratio of 1:7 and reformation personnel-to-inmate ratio of 1:24. Hence, it is authorized to increase its manpower to meet such ratio and may continue to increase personnel per percentage rate increase of committed inmates annually or as the need arises.

Section 11. Professionalization and Upgrading of Qualification Standards in the Appointment of the BuCor Personnel. – (a) No person shall be appointed as personnel of the BuCor unless one possesses the following minimum qualifications:

(b) After the lapse of the period for the satisfaction of a specific requirement, incumbent personnel of the BuCor who fail to satisfy any of the requirements enumerated under this section shall be separated from the service if they are below fifty (50) years of age and have served in the government for less than twenty (20) years, or retired if they are fifty (50) years and above and have served in the government for at least twenty (20) years without prejudice in either case to the payment of benefits they may be entitled to under existing laws.

(c) For sustained professionalism in the service, the BuCor is directed to conduct study for the feasible establishment of the Philippine Corrections Academy, patterned after the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) of the Armed Forces of Philippines (AFP) for its commissioned officers.

(d) The BuCor shall continue training its personnel through its Personnel Training School, which shall be renamed as Corrections Training School/Institute patterned after the BJMP’s Jail National Training Institute (JNTI), the Bureau of Fire’s Fire National Training Institute (FNTI) and the PNP’s National Training Institute (PNTI).

Section 12. Appointment of Personnel to the BuCor. – The appointment of the BuCor shall be effected in the following manner:

Section 13. Lateral Entry of Officer into the BuCor. – In general, all original appointments of officers in the BuCor shall commence with the rank of Corrections Inspector wherein applicants for lateral entry into the BuCor shall include all those with highly specialized and technical qualifications such as, but not limited to, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, chemical engineers, chemists, architects, criminologists, certified public accountants, nurses, physical therapists, dentists, social workers, psychologists, sociologists, guidance counselors and teachers. Doctors of Medicine, members of the Philippine Bar and chaplains shall be appointed to the rank of Corrections Senior Inspector in their particular technical service.

Section 14. Professionalization and Upgrading of Qualification Standards in the Designation of Personnel of the BuCor to Key Positions. –

Section 15. Professionalization and Qualifications Upgrading Program. – The DOJ shall design and establish a professionalization and qualifications upgrading program for personnel of the BuCor, in coordination with the CSC and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), through an off-campus education program or other similar programs within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act.

Section 16. Attrition System for the Personnel of the BuCor. – There shall be established a system of attrition for the personnel of the BuCor within five (5) years from the effectivity of this Act, to be submitted by the said bureau to the DOJ for approval. Such attrition system shall include, but is not limited to, the provision of the following principles:

Section 17. Promotion System for the Personnel of the BuCor. – Within six (6) months after the effectivity of this Act, the BuCor shall establish a system of promotion for the personnel of the BuCor through the following principles:

Section 18. Performance Evaluation System. – (a) There shall be established a performance evaluation system which shall be administered in accordance with the rules, regulations and standards, and a code of conduct for the personnel of the BuCor to be promulgated by the BuCor through the DOJ. Such performance evaluation system shall be administered in such a way as to foster the improvement of the individual efficiency and behavioral discipline, as well as the promotion of organizational effectiveness and commitment to public service.

(b) The rating system as contemplated herein shall be based on standards prescribed by the BuCor through the DOJ and shall be considered the result of the annual psychiatric/psychological and physical test conducted on the personnel of the BuCor.

Section 19. Standardization of the Base Pay and Other Benefits of the Uniformed Personnel of the BuCor. – In order to enhance the general welfare, commitment to service and professionalism, the following are considered uniformed personnel of the BuCor:

The DBM shall determine the equivalent rank of the uniformed personnel of the BuCor patterned after the existing ranks of the military and uniformed personnel of other departments.

The base pay, allowances and other benefits of the abovementioned personnel shall be in accordance with the existing compensation and position classification laws and regulations.

Section 20. Retirement Benefits. – Upon compulsory retirement, any custodial officer from the rank of Corrections Chief Superintendent and below shall be entitled to retirement benefits computed on the basis of one grade higher than the position last held: Provided, That the retirement pay shall be subject to adjustment/s based on the prevailing scale of base pay of the uniformed personnel in the active service.

Section 21. Funding Source. – The funds required for the implementation of this Act including personnel benefits shall be taken from the budget of the BuCor for the current fiscal year and also from the following:

Section 22. Implementation. – The implementation of this Act shall be undertaken in staggered phases, but not to exceed five (5) years, taking into consideration the financial position of the national government: Provided, That any partial implementation shall be uniform and proportionate for all ranks.

Section 23. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – The DOJ, in coordination with the BuCor, the CSC, the DBM and the Department of Finance (DOF), shall, within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act, promulgate the rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this Act.

Section 24. Transitory Provisions. – (a) The incumbent Director and two (2) incumbent Assistant Directors shall serve under the terms for which they have been appointed without need of new appointments upon the enactment of this Act.

(b) All incumbent personnel who, upon the effectivity of this Act, shall opt to early or optionally retire from the service will be entitled to the retirement benefits computed as follows: