Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 17) — Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gregorio Catapang on Monday said efforts are underway to complete the construction of a separate facility for heinous crime convicts and jails per region by 2028 to finally close down the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
“It began this year and hopefully we’ll be completing it before the end of 2028,” Catapang told CNN Philippines’ The Source, referring to the facility being built in Sablayan, Mindoro.
Catapang said the area is fit for the building of an Alcatraz-like prison since it is on the mountain where there are no cell sites and no road network.
Alcatraz was a former maximum security prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, California. It closed down in 1963 due to the high cost of operating it.
Catapang said the BuCor also hopes to complete 12 prisons across the 12 regions of the country by 2028. Among those being considered are Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija and Camp Jamindan in Capiz.
Once all inmates are transferred, only the headquarters will be left in NBP’s property in Muntinlupa, he added.
