(Second of Two Parts)
The root of the problem with our jails is structural.
A lack of personnel, chronic overcrowding, and insufficient funding led to reliance on inmate governance systems. These, in turn, created a class of VIP inmates who receive privileges that undermine the principles of justice and security.
With the right connections, money, and influence, inmates can exploit the system. Over time, the lines between management and manipulation blur—facilitating criminal enterprises both inside and outside jail walls.
This problem is more acute in provincial jails.
While the BJMP has made significant strides since the 2010s in instituting strict protocols and professional standards, provincial jails remain largely unreformed. The BJMP has formally curbed many of these practices through professionalization and stricter oversight.
So, what can be done?
First, provincial jails should be transferred to BJMP management. This would ensure that staff are trained professionals, with four-year degrees and correctional training, rather than political appointees. It would also depoliticize appointments and ensure more consistent adherence to national standards.
Second, all jails and prisons must modernize their operations and align with the principles of effective correctional management. This means implementing risk assessments, assigning inmates to appropriate housing, providing targeted rehabilitation programs, and improving documentation and case management.
The continued reliance on the mayores system and gang-based segregation is a stopgap solution that has now become entrenched and counterproductive.
Third, resource support is essential. Overcrowding must be addressed. More trained personnel must be hired. Correctional facilities must be provided with adequate funding to support not just custodial services but also rehabilitation programs that reduce recidivism.
[A]ll jails and prisons must modernize their operations and align with the principles of effective correctional management. This means implementing risk assessments, assigning inmates to appropriate housing, providing targeted rehabilitation programs, and improving documentation and case management.
EMPOWERING COURTS
Beyond corrections, the broader criminal justice system also needs reform. Alternatives to incarceration should be expanded for low-risk, non-violent, and first-time offenders. This would free up space in jails for high-risk and repeat offenders.
Meanwhile, the courts must be empowered and restructured to expedite case resolution. At present, the Philippines ranks among the slowest in the world in disposing of cases—a key reason why jails remain packed.
Inmates getting out of jail without a court order is a serious issue. It erodes public trust, highlights systemic weakness, and undermines the very idea of justice.
But before rushing to judgment or posting angry tirades on social media, we must understand that this is not just about individual misconduct—it is about a system that is structurally flawed and historically neglected. To fix it, we must go beyond outrage and commit to comprehensive, long-term reform.
(Raymund E Narag, PhD, himself was a former inmate QCJ 1995-2002.)