New Bilibid Prison
Encyclopedia
Muntinlupa City
The City of Muntinlupa is the southernmost city in Philippine National Capital Region. It is bordered on the north by Taguig City; to the northwest by Parañaque City; by Las Piñas City to the west; to the southwest by the city of Bacoor, Cavite; by the city of San Pedro, Laguna; and by Laguna de...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, is the main insular penitentiary
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
designed to house the prison population of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. It is maintained by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) under the Philippine Department of Justice
Department of Justice (Philippines)
The Department of Justice , abbreviated as DOJ, is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for upholding the rule of law in the Philippines...
. As of October 2004, it has an inmate population of 16,747. The penitentiary had an initial land area of 551 hectares. One hundred four hectares of the facility were transferred to a housing project of the Department of Justice. The Bureau of Corrections
Bureau of Corrections (Philippines)
The Bureau of Corrections is an agency of the Department of Justice which is charged with the custody and rehabilitation of national offenders, who have been sentenced to three years of imprisonment or more...
has its headquarters in the NBP Reservation.
History
The Old Bilibid Prison, then known as Carcel y Presidio Correccional (SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, "Correctional Jail and Military Prison") occupied a rectangular piece of land which was part of the Mayhalique Estate in the heart of Manila. The old prison was established on June 25, 1865 under a Spanish royal decree. It is divided into two sections the Carcel Section which could accommodate 600 inmates and the Presidio, which could accommodate 527 prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
ers. Due to increasing crime, the Philippine Government enacted Commonwealth Act No. 67 and a new prison was built in Muntinlupa
Muntinlupa City
The City of Muntinlupa is the southernmost city in Philippine National Capital Region. It is bordered on the north by Taguig City; to the northwest by Parañaque City; by Las Piñas City to the west; to the southwest by the city of Bacoor, Cavite; by the city of San Pedro, Laguna; and by Laguna de...
on 551 hectares of land at an area considered at that time to be "remote
Distance
Distance is a numerical description of how far apart objects are. In physics or everyday discussion, distance may refer to a physical length, or an estimation based on other criteria . In mathematics, a distance function or metric is a generalization of the concept of physical distance...
". Construction began in 1936 with a budget of one million pesos. In 1940, the prisoners, equipment and facilities were transferred to the new prison. The remnants of the old facility was used by the City of Manila as its detention center then known as Manila City Jail. In 1941 the new facility was officially named "The New Bilibid Prison".
Recreation and facilities
The prisoners pass the time in the basketball court in the penitentiary's gymnasium. They are also engaged in the production of handicrafts. Various religious organizations are active in the prison and daily masses are held in the prison's chapel. The New Bilibid Prison also houses a talipapa (market) where the prisoners can buy commodities. Educational facilities inside the compound provide elementary education, high school educationSecondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
, vocational training and adult literacy programs. It also provides a Bachelor's Degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in Commerce. Medical services are given by religious groups and charitable organizations such as the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
, Amazing Grace Christian ministries, Philippine Prison Jesuit Service and Caritas Manila
Caritas (charity)
Caritas Internationalis is a confederate of 164 Roman Catholic relief, development and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide....
.
Katarungan Village
On September 5, 1991 PresidentPresident of the Philippines
The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...
Corazon C. Aquino issued Presidential Proclamation No. 792, which was amended by Presidential Proclamation No. 120 on December 15, 1992 to the effect that 104.22 hectares of land be developed into housing for employees of the Department of Justice
Department of Justice (Philippines)
The Department of Justice , abbreviated as DOJ, is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for upholding the rule of law in the Philippines...
and other government agencies. This housing project is known as the Katarungan Village.
Notable inmates
- Emilio ChangcoEmilio ChangcoEmilio Changco was a pirate gang leader based out of Manila Bay in the Philippines. He was responsible for many of the ships that went missing in the area. He specialized in piracy-for-order, where a client would choose a ship and the Changco Gang would seize it, transfer the cargo, and then sell...
leader of infamous Pirate gang operating in the late 80s - Amado V. Hernandez is a National artist for LiteratureNational Artist of the PhilippinesA National Artist of the Philippines is a title given to a Filipino who has been given the highest recognition for having made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts...
who wrote his masterpieces while imprisoned in the facility. - Jovito SalongaJovito SalongaJovito "Jovy" Reyes Salonga is a Filipino nationalist politician and lawyer, as well as a leading opposition leader during the Marcos regime from 1972, when Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, until 1986, when Marcos was deposed as a result of a bloodless revolution...
, a Filipino senator, was imprisoned by the Japanese Kempetai on April 1942. - Claudio Teehankee Jr. is the son of former Chief Justice Claudio Teehankee, Sr.Claudio Teehankee, Sr.Claudio Teehankee was the 16th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.He was also the most senior associate justice and chairman of the First Division of the Supreme Court of the Philippines....
who was convicted on October 6, 1995. - Hubert WebbHubert WebbHubert Jeffrey Pagaspas Webb , is a former convict and one of the alleged suspects of the 1991 Vizconde massacre in the Philippines...
is the son of former Senator Freddie Webb who was convicted on January 6, 2000. - Tomoyuki YamashitaTomoyuki YamashitaGeneral was a general of the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. He was most famous for conquering the British colonies of Malaya and Singapore, earning the nickname "The Tiger of Malaya".- Biography :...
was the commander of the Japanese Imperial Army in the Philippines in 1944. He was incarcerated while undergoing trial for World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
war crimeWar crimeWar crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s and was eventually executed by hangingHangingHanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
in Los BañosLos BanosLos Banos could refer to:*Los Banos, California, United States*Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines...
on February 23, 1946.
See also
- Bureau of CorrectionsBureau of Corrections (Philippines)The Bureau of Corrections is an agency of the Department of Justice which is charged with the custody and rehabilitation of national offenders, who have been sentenced to three years of imprisonment or more...
- Iwahig Prison and Penal FarmIwahig Prison and Penal FarmIwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines is one of seven operating units of the Bureau of Corrections under the Department of Justice.- American territorial period :...