COMMITTEE REPORT

AN ACT IMPOSING THE PRISON LABOR PROGRAM IN NATIONAL PRISONS OF

THE PHILIPPINES.
As Reported by Stephen Corpuz On:
Labor and Employment, October 3, 2017
Title: An act imposing the prison labor program in national prisons of the Philippines.
Brief Description: This bill seeks to give the income of the prisoners from their labor to
their families and increase the Agricultural and Industrial production sector.
Sponsor: Stephen Corpuz
Committee Activity: Committee on Labor and Employment
Majority Report: That this bill must be studied further for amendments therefore it was
moved to lay it on the table. It was taken up from the table and was moved for the
period of amendments. Based on the deliberation the Majority concluded that this bill is
not sufficient to serve the purpose of its intentions. The majority decided not to pass the
bill.
Aira Mindanao raised a clarification that regards to Section 8 (b), that people who
are subjected to any psychological disorders are not eligible to be imprisoned.
Response of the author: The author suggested removing Section 8 (b).
John Lawrence Emata asked the author that regards to Section 8 (a) if he also
includes those people who are sentenced to life imprisonment.
Response of the author: The author answered that those people who are
subjected to life imprisonment is also under the said provision.
Rickdel Del Rosario asked for the mechanisms of Section 8- Limitations.
Response of the author: The author responded that those includes the
people who committed heinous crime and sentenced to a reclusion
perpetua and life imprisonment but still can take part of the program. 60%
of their income will be allocated to the family of the prisoner and 40% will
go to the Bureau of Corrections for the funding of the reformation program
for the prisoners. He also explained that there shall be no monetary
allowances are given to the prisoners.

Minority Report: Do not pass.

That it must not pass the committee level because there are existing programs
such as this in the Bureau of Corrections.
Committee Decision Report: The Committee decided not to pass the said bill because
the bill will not be fully able to serve its intentions because of lack of sufficiency. The
committee tried to retain the essence of the bill to serve its intentions through thorough
deliberation but no amount of amendments can retain it. Therefore with No opposition to
the non-passage of the bill the committee decided that the bill will not be sponsored by
the committee.
Background:

In a developing country that small in geographical scale but is populous, crime

rate tends to be high. Some people in the poverty line are illiterate, and has no means
of applying themselves to work. So, some of them commits criminal deeds because
that's the only source of living that they know. Some of them gets away of their crime,
some gets imprisoned. High crime rate means that there are many cases filed in
precincts. People guilty of their crime means they get imprisoned. And if there are many
prisoners, it means that penal institutions become congested. It's a fact that food
supplies in prison facilities are not enough to accommodate a large number of
prisoners. Also, prison cells are too congested to accommodate all the prisoners, in
result of that, the prisoners sleep in floors, and in places that are not supposed to be a
place of sleeping or resting. Given that they dont deserve any comfort in life for the
crimes that they did, but it's still the role of the penal institution tip provide the basic
needs of the prisoners while in their custody.

In 2001, about 35,000 inmates were fighting for space in jails supervised by the
bureau. Today, the number has jumped to 69,500. Over congestion also brutalizes life
in penitentiaries and in provincial jails. The projected populations of national prisons
administered by the Bureau of Corrections, an agency of the Department of Justice and
the jails maintained by the provincial governments must be as dreadful. 1

Prisoners also find time to keep themselves busy. There are programs in the
Bureau of Corrections that provides skills training, recreation, work and livelihood
program for the prisoners skills enhancement. Most of the Penal Institutions in the
Philippines has Penal Farms. These penal farms are intended for the prisoners' work,
obviously in crop production and farming. The prisoners are given allowances for their
personal expenses inside the facility. But, is there an assurance that they won't use the

1
http://www.philstar.com/business/2015/01/02/1408535/new-bilibid-prison-nbp
money they earned for unethical purposes like gambling and such things that are
unlawful? They are given fifty pesos allowance per day, and five hundred pesos per
month of work. Given that there are recreational program which also serves as a
rehabilitation program for them, I still think that they should not be given a daily
allowance.

In coming up with the Prison Labor Bill", the main problem is where to distribute
the income? What would be the source of the budget for the income? And lastly, Does it
require all prisoners to participate? All of the questions will be answered in the bill.

In the United States of America, Penal labor is sometimes used as a punishment

in the U.S. military. It is stated penal labor is allowed by the 13th Amendment of
the U.S. Constitution. This form of legal slavery is only allowed when used as
punishment for committing a crime. The 13th Amendment states that "neither slavery
nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall
have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to
their jurisdiction." 2

On 2016, Senator Richard Gordon proposes the use of the penal labor in the
Philippines. He stated that the prisoners, even if in confinement, may be productive and
can be used as an addition to the labor force. "They could plant trees on denuded
mountains so that floods could be prevented. They could also desilt rivers or they could
fix damaged irrigation canals or systems to improve crop production in the country.
They could be given allowances for the community work", Senator Gordon said. 3The
prisoners can also work for the reforestation of mountains, especially in landslide and
flood prone areas. The Senator believes that by the use of prison labor, inmates may
reformed very well before being released into the society in the same time, they are

2
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_labor_in_the_United_States

3
http://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2016/1121_gordon1.asp
contributing in fixing the problems of the government. A production of vehicle license
plate can also be launched for the prisoners. With this proposal, the prisoners can be a
productive in the penal institutions before their reintegration.

With the proposal of Senator Gordon, I think that prisoners at work can be a
great help in the agriculture and industrial sector. With the current problem that the
prisons and jailhouses are experiencing, which is congestion, I think that they can
generate funds for the renovation of the prison. With the renovation of prisons, the
prisoners can be accommodated and it will lessen congestion.

This bill doesnt violate any provisions in the constitution. It does not require the
prisoners to take part on the Prison Labor Program. The Prison Labor Program will only
be mandatory when the prisoners is on the part our process of Rehabilitation before
reintegration to the society.

The Government must use any means to promote the agricultural and industrial
sectors. A worker earns money from the work they have done, but in this case, the
prisoners will not directly receive their income to prevent them form committing any
crimes that is money-based. To prevent this kind of acts, the Prison Labor Bill" will
distribute the income to the families of the prisoners and the Bureau supervising the
penal institutions.

References:

http://www.philstar.com/business/2015/01/02/1408535/new-bilibid-prison-nbp

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_labor_in_the_United_States

http://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2016/1121_gordon1.asp