Senator wants detention centers in provinces

SENATOR Franklin Drilon urged the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Tuesday to put up regional penitentiaries to improve the country's rehabilitation program.

At a press conference after the deliberations on the budget for the Department of Justice (DOJ), Drilon said developing four regional detention centers would be good for inmates from the provinces.

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“It will help in the rehabilitation of our inmates when they are closer to their families in the provinces. There can be more visitations and interaction,” he said.

Regional detention center will also help decongest around 400 hectares of prime property in Manila used by BuCor, added Drilon.

He said privatizing the property would help the national government generate funds and move closer to a balance budget.

The BuCor, a component agency of the DOJ, handles 20,000 inmates who could be sent to the provinces once the detention centers are set up.

Each regional penitentiary will be able to house 5,000 inmates and will cost P800 million to build.

Drilon said regional penitentiaries could be set up in Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

BuCor Director Oscar Calderon, who attended the budget deliberations, said that the bureau has already started working on Drilon's proposal.

The long-term goal is for the BuCor to build a penitentiary in each region. (Jonathan de Santos/Sunnex)