The Iwahig penal farm expects to reopen Barrio Libertad before the end of the year, as stated by Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr.
Barrio Libertad is an area that used to house inmates at the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF), where their families stayed with them, but it was closed down years ago.
Catapang said the idea of bringing back the program is part of the continuous reformation of PDLs and aims to boost their morale while they serve the last few years of their confinement before being set free and reintegrated into mainstream society.
“These PDLs will be free within three to five years so as early as now, we are helping them feel that they will no longer want to come back because once they are out and they have nowhere to go, they might just go back to making trouble,” he said during a press conference in IPPF last Friday, August 18.
The BuCor chief said they have already identified an area at the foot of the mountain for the purpose inside IPPF.
“I want to place them there because once the farming here is mechanized, it can be carried on by a few thousand people bu we are talking of about 30,000 PDLs that hopefully, we can transfer here those who are doing good,” Catapang explained.
“They will be staying at the foot of the mountain, they will reforest it or they will plant bamboo for carbon trading, coconut for copra or other in-demand products like durian which is in-demand in China. So those high value crops will be planted there,” he added.
Catapang further stated that a large area of the IPPF can also be converted into an industrial complex where an investor can put up an abaca textile processing.
“One of our friends here, we can do abaca textile because at the BuCor, we need a new uniform so we will design a new uniform out of abaca textile. Then there are also foreign investors who want to relocate here in the Philippines and want an industrial zone,” he said without further divulging the names of the companies.
“So I am having this area master-planned so that this will become sustainable where BuCor is earning and the economy is growing,” he added.
He further stated that they have already identified around 20-30 PDLs who will be the first beneficiaries of the program, saying those who are from Palawan will be prioritized because their families are just around.
“And then hopefully, the PDLs will be transformed within a few month and they will be able to reintegrate with the society, And then, we are also planning to allocate an area as housing project for those who will be set free and continue to employ them,” he said.
