THE Bureau of Corrections has added 1,000 new correction officers to its ranks as the agency bids to improve the ratio between correction officers and the inmates they are guarding.
The new Correction Officers 1 (CO1) and 85 attrition cycle recruits took their oaths yesterday, with 264 of them making their pledge before BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. during a simple ceremony held at the Sunken Garden Parade Ground at the BuCor Compound in the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
“I don’t want misfits in BuCor. What we needed are men and women of integrity, patriotism and those who can be trusted to serve the country,” Catapang told the new recruits in his speech.
“You are not here just for the job but you have to serve the persons deprived of liberty,” he added.
Aside from the 264 from NBP, 200 correction officers each from Davao and Iwahig Prison and Penal Farms, 140 from Leyte Regional Prison, 100 from San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm and 96 from Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm also took their oaths.
Of the 85 attrition cycle recruits, 71 are CO1 and 14 are Corrections Technical Officer 1.
These 85, according to Catapang, were retained from the service as the Civil Service Commission considered their long work experience as their eligibility.
Catapang said that the BuCor continues to open its doors to new applicants who are qualified to work, adding that by next year another 1,000 will be recruited.
Catapang said from 2015 to January 31, 2024, the ratio of correction officer to inmate stood at 1:26.
At present, the NBP and the six other prison and penal farms of the BuCor has in its custody 52,113 inmates, of which 28,892 are in the national penitentiary though it only has a maximum capacity of 9,885.
Last year, the BuCor said it needs to hire 800 new correction officers from 2024 until 2028, or a total of 4,000 officers, to address the increase in inmate population in its prison and penal colonies.
It said it would need P1.076 billion until 2028 to fund the hiring program to cover salaries and other benefits as well as the purchase of equipment.
The recruitment is also part of the agency’s effort to modernize and professionalize the force under Republic Act 10575, or the BuCor Modernization Act.
