President Noynoy Aquino has approved the transfer of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) to Laur, Nueva Ecija. The move is seen as a step in overhauling the country’s correctional system. It’s no secret that the NBP has been subjected to several raids yielding contraband and that its high-profile inmates have been living like kings.
“With a little more than two months to go until the end of his term, Aquino said he was initially reluctant to approve the public-private partnership (PPP) agreement as this might be construed as a ‘midnight deal,’ but he decided nonetheless to sign it to ‘lessen his successor’s burden,'” reports Delon Porcalla in The Philippine Star.
The contract may be awarded on Jun 29, the eve of his last day in office.
The future site of the national penitentiary is a 500-hectare property in the town of Laur, Nueva Ecija. The construction of the new national prison site is estimated to take around three years. A budget of PHP50.18 billion allocated for the project.
The report noted: “As for the Bilibid property in Muntinlupa City, the government plans to sell the 300-hectare area to be converted for commercial purposes. There are plans, though, to retain 50 to 70 hectares of the site for the establishment of facilities such as the BuCor Correctional Academy and the Department of Justice Academy for the training of corrections officers, investigation agents and prosecutors.”
