The Leyte Regional Prison (LRP) was created by virtue of P.D. No.

28 and was established on January 16, 1973 under

It was built to receive, confine, secure and rehabilitate convicted criminals classified as national prisoners whose
sentences range from three (3) years and one (1) day imprisonment or above. Most prisoners came from Region VIII
comprising the provinces in the islands of Samar, Leyte and Biliran. As of March 19, 1997 there are about nine hundred
eighty (980) prisoners housed in this regional prison with 204 at the maximum security, 550 at the medium security and
226 at the minimum security prison. Prisoners within the prison compound are usually engaged in handicrafts while
those who are living-out prisoners are engaged in farming and also in handicrafts making. Others are household helpers
who received some simple tokens and small compensation.

Problems identified at the LRP are as follows: living conditions in the medium and maximum barracks are below human
standards with regards to shelter and facilities; food provisions are distributed by ration system at a budget of P20.00
per day per inmate; hospital facility is a dilapidated improvised building with make shift wooden beds and inadequately
supplied with medicines and equipments; lacks nutritional facility and the services of a qualified nutritionist or dietitian;
inadequate hygiene and sanitation installations; lacking of jail guards ideally 1 guard is to 6 prisoners; but presently it¹s
1:28) and sudden increase in 1996 mortality rate.

More so, there were two kinds of abuses present at LRP. One is the maltreatment committed against the prisoners by
the “mayores of the pangkat”. It is committed usually against those who violated the prison rules and regulations. It is
inflicted through fist blows, use of “batuta”, withholding of food ration and suspension of privilege visits from inmates
families, relatives and friends. Inmate violators are usually placed at the disciplinary cell for a certain period upon the
discretion of the prison authorities through the mayores¹ recommendation. Another is the maltreatment inflicted by the
prison authorities/employees against those living-out prisoners especially those who worked as household helpers.
Small mistakes might even caused their life because of beatings or “pambubugbog”. The primary objectives and
concerns of the visit are to evaluate the physical conditions of the penitentiary and the prisoners itself, the food and
water provisions, the health and medical facilities and the system of access to available resources and facilities. So, with
the problems that were identified necessary recommendations shall be provided to solve and lighten the burden.
The Sablayan Prison And Penal Farm (SPPF) is situated at Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro. It was established by President
Ramon Magsaysay through Executive Order No.547 on January 14, 1954. And it was opened on the 26th of June 1954. At
present, the SPPF have 909 colonists which were distributed/ divided into their different securities and sub-prisons, in a
receiving station and in a special project. The following are the list of sub-prisons with its corresponding distributions of
colonists:

a. Central Sub-Prison 570 colonists

b. Pasugui Sub-Prison 129 colonists

c. Siburan Sub-Prison 120 colonists

d. San Vicente De Prospero Sub-Prison 80 colonists

e. Pusog Special Project 8 colonists

f. San Jose Receiving Station 2 colonists

Most colonists complained of rigorous working condition in the penal colony. They undergone massive farming and
cultivation/ transformation of lands, breaking of stones, clearing of the area and cutting of forested lands. But proper
discipline towards the colonists are just being enforced that¹s why they undergone these kind of work. They also
complained of other problems such as lack of facilities for conjugal visits, very slow processing of their documents for
executive clemency, and the distance from their family or love ones is a major source of anxiety and concern because
they can¹t be visited easily. Scarcity of writing materials and the cost of mails in which the postage is almost a luxury for
them are another aired problems. There were also lack of basic laboratories, facilities, x-ray facilities, both medical and
dental, and lack of standard wards.

On the other hand, at the SPPF, over crowding is not present. There¹s a very good over all sanitation and prospects for a
more self-supporting colony as far as food and nutritional supplies are concerned. And there¹s a primary health care unit
manned by two (2) doctors, a nurse, a pharmacist and a dentist. And there¹s also an on-site case hearing activity
provided by a visiting judge with his full-court staff and the Public Attorney’s Office provides them with lawyers. Thus,
SPPF is a well supervised colony. But still, the Assistance and Visitorial Office shall continue in reviewing the synopsis
submitted by the inmates and get their records directly from the officers in-charge. The Commission on Human Rights
shall work together with the Bureau of Pardons and Parole and act together to follow-up the records of those inmates
ready for signatures and approval of the President. And lastly, the commission shall continue with its Philippine Human
Rights Plan for Prisoners/Inmates Sector to prevent abuse or maltreatment.
The San Ramon Penal Farm & Colony. c1915.

Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur.

The oldest penal facility in the Philippines.

The San Ramon Prison was established in southern Zamboanga on August 21,1870 through a royal decree promulgated
in 1869. Established during the tenure of Governor General Ramon Blanco (whose patron saint the prison was named
after), the facility was originally established for persons convicted of political crimes.

Prisoners in San Ramon were required to do agricultural work. During the Spanish-American War in 1898, the prisoners
in San Ramon were hastily released and the buildings destroyed. In 1907, the American administration re-established
the prison farm. In 1912, Gen. John Pershing, chief executive of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, classified the
institution as a prison and penal colony and therein confined people sentenced by the courts under his jurisdiction.

Under Pershing’s supervision, several buildings with a capacity for 600 prisoners were constructed. After several years,
the colony became practically self supporting, with 75,000 coconut trees, which were planted at the beginning of
Pershing’s administration, contributing to the colony’s self-sufficiency. Aside from coconuts, rice, corn, papaya and other
crops were also cultivated. On November 1, 1905, Reorganization Act No. 1407 was approved creating the Bureau of
Prisons under the Department of Commerce and Police, integrating the Old Bilibid Prison in Manila, San Ramon Penal
Colony and Iwahig Penal Colony in Palawan.