(PNA photo by Avito Dalan)
MANILA — Prison reforms being undertaken by the Bureau of Corrections (Bucor) are expected to be expedited following the appointment by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. of a new deputy director general.
In a statement on Wednesday, BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said he “welcome(s) the appointment of Gil Tisado Torralba as Deputy Director General for Operations at the Bureau of Corrections.”
“We are looking on how we can improve more and Torralba’s appointment will give us a big boost due to his experiences as former police superintendent and provincial warden,” he said, adding that the order from the Office of Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla was dated Aug. 7.
Last Aug. 7, Catapang announced that Senior Insp. Angelina Bautista has been relieved from her post to give her an opportunity to clear her name in line with the Senate investigation on her alleged involvement in prison anomalies.
“As guided by the on-going investigation in Congress, we are presently reviewing the privileges granted to PDLs (persons deprived of liberty) starting with the visitations, food deliveries, remittances and accounting of our PDLs, while balancing the right to life and the right to health of PDLs,” Catapang told senators during a hearing on Tuesday.
He said BuCor hired 1,000 correction officers last year and is hiring additional 1,000 this year.
He said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) also approved the hiring of another 1,000 correction officers next year.
“They will constitute the new blood of BuCor who will regain the trust and confidence of the Filipino people. We will therefore have a total of 3,000 new correction officers by end of 2024, who will represent the beginning of a reformed BuCor,” he added. (PNA)
