NEARLY 500 inmates at the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF) in Palawan have started taking part in the Bureau of Corrections’ (BuCor’s) Reformation Initiative for Sustainable Environment (RISE) for a food security project.
BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr., citing reports provided to his office by IPPF Supt. Gary Garcia, said 300 inmates from medium security and 195 from the minimum security compound started seed and land preparation on a 501 hectare-property in the IPPF complex allotted for the RISE project.
“This project will not only contribute to the country’s food sufficiency and security but also address one of the agricultural sector’s concerns of aging farmers in the country since the inmates will be trained as farmers,” Catapang said.
He added the project will also provide additional income to the participating inmates and contribute to their reformation and prepare them to live a normal and productive life once they are released from prison.
Under the memorandum of agreement among the Department of Justice, BuCor, and the Department of Agriculture last month, the IPPF will be used for the pilot project implementation of agro-tourism and agro-aquaculture sites, which Catapang said the agency will replicate in other penal colonies in the country.
Aside from the IPPF, BuCor operates six other prison and penal colonies namely the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong City, Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Sablayan in Occidental Mindoro, San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City, Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog in Leyte, and the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Davao del Norte.
Under the agreement, the IPPF will make available 501 of the 28,788 hectares of its land area, to be turned into farms for assorted vegetables, cashew, fruits and vegetable herbs, tilapia fishpond, rice, livestock, and yellow corn.
