Chapter 7 - Pre-Colonial and Spanish Regimes, Transfer of The Bilibid Prison To Muntinlupa, The

MODULE:
Institutional Corrections
Chapter 7
At the end of this chapter the student should be able to:
• Orient themselves on the development of prisons

• Explain the history of correctional agencies in the
Philippines
PRE-COLONIAL AND SPANISH REGIMES
During the pre-colonial times, the informal prison system was community-
based, as there were no national penitentiaries to speak of. Natives who
defied or violated the local laws were meted appropriate penalties by
the local chieftains. Incarceration in the community was only meant to
prevent the culprit from further harming the local residents.
The formal prison system in the Philippines started only during
the Spanish regime, where an organized corrective service was made
operational. Established in 1847 pursuant to Section 1708 of the Revised
Administrative Code and formally opened by Royal Decree in 1865, the Old
Bilibid Prison was constructed as the main penitentiary on Oroquieta
Street, Manila and designed to house the prison population of the
country. This prison became known as the “Carcel y Presidio Correccional”
and could accommodate 1,127 prisoners.
The Carcel was designed to house 600 prisoners who were segregated
according to class, sex and crime while the Presidio could accommodate
527 prisoners. Plans for the construction of the prison were first
published on September 12, 1859 but it was not until April 10, 1866 that
the entire facility was completed.
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The prison
occupied a quadrangular
piece of land 180 meters
long on each side, which
was formerly a part of the
Mayhalique Estate in the
heart of Manila. It housed
a building for the offices
and quarters of the prison
warden, and 15 buildings
or departments for
prisoners that were
arranged in a radial way to form spokes. The central tower formed the
hub. Under this tower was the chapel. There were four cell-houses for
the isolated prisoners and four isolated buildings located on the four
corners of the walls, which served as kitchen, hospital and stores. The
prison was divided in the middle by a thick wall. One-half of the enclosed
space was assigned to Presidio prisoners and the other half to Carcel
prisoners.
In 1908, concrete
modern 200-bed capacity
hospitals as well as new
dormitories for the
prisoners were added. A
carpentry shop was
organized within the
confines of the facility.
For some time, the shop
became a trademark for
fine workmanship of
furniture made by
prisoners. At this time,
sales of handicrafts were
done through the
institutions and inmates were compensated depending on the availability
of funds. As a consequence, inmates often had to sell through the retail
or barter their products.
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On August 21, 1869, the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in
Zamboanga City was established to confine Muslim rebels and recalcitrant
political prisoners opposed to the Spanish rule. The facility, which
faced the Jolo sea had Spanish-inspired dormitories and was originally
set on a 1,414-hectare sprawling estate.
The American and Commonwealth

Government
When the Americans took over

in the 1900s, the Bureau of
Prisons was created under the
Reorganization Act of 1905
(Act No. 1407 dated November
1, 1905) as an agency under
the Department of Commerce
and Police.
It also paved the way for the re-

establishment of San Ramon Prison in 1907 which was destroyed during
the Spanish-American War. On January 1, 1915, the San Ramon Prison was
placed under the auspices of the Bureau of Prisons and started
receiving prisoners from Mindanao.
Before the reconstruction

of San Ramon Prison, the
Americans established in 1904
the Iuhit penal settlement (now
Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm) on
a vast reservation of 28,072
hectares. It would reach a total
land area of 40,000 hectares in
the late 1950s. Located on the
westernmost part of the
archipelago far from the main
town to confine incorrigibles with little hope of rehabilitation, the
area was expanded to 41,007 hectares by virtue of Executive Order No.
67 issued by Governor Newton Gilbert on October 15, 1912.
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Other penal colonies were established during the American regime.

On November 27, 1929, the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) was
created under Act No. 3579 to provide separate facilities for women
offenders while the Davao Penal Colony in Southern Mindanao was opened
in 1932 under Act No. 3732.
TRANSFER OF BILIBID PRISON TO

MUNTINLUPA
The increasing number of

committals to the Old Bilibid Prison,
the growing urbanization of Manila
and the constant lobbying by
conservative groups prompted the
government to plan and develop a new
site for the national penitentiary,
which was to be on the outskirts of the
urban center. Accordingly, Commonwealth Act No.
67 was enacted, appropriating one million (P1,000.000.00)
pesos for the construction of a new national prison in the southern
suburb of Muntinlupa, Rizal in 1935. The old prison was transformed into
a receiving center and a storage facility for farm produce from the
colonies. It was later abandoned and is now under the jurisdiction of
the Public Estates Authority.
On November 15, 1940, all inmates
of the Old Bilibid Prison in Manila
were transferred to the new site.
The new institution had a capacity
of 3,000 prisoners and it was
officially named the New Bilibid
Prison on January 22, 1941. The
prison reservation has an area of
587 hectares, part of which was
arable. The prison compound proper
had an area of 300 x 300 meters or
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a total of nine hectares. It was surrounded by three layers of barbed
wire.
References:
• Bureau of Corrections: http://www.bucor.gov.ph/

• http://www.bucor.gov.ph/history/history%201.html
• http://www.bucor.gov.ph/history/history%202.html
•
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Chapter 7 - Pre-Colonial and Spanish Regimes, Transfer of The Bilibid Prison To Muntinlupa, The

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MODULE:

At the end of this chapter the student should be able to:

• Orient themselves on the development of prisons

PRE-COLONIAL AND SPANISH REGIMES

The American and Commonwealth

When the Americans took over

It also paved the way for the re-

Before the reconstruction

Other penal colonies were established during the American regime.

TRANSFER OF BILIBID PRISON TO

The increasing number of

• Bureau of Corrections: http://www.bucor.gov.ph/

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