THE Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) yesterday said it has completed the digitization of the carpeta or personal records of inmates under its care with the assistance of the European Union.
Bucor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. said the EU provided seven scanners and seven laptops valued at P12 million that were used during the digitization of the records, and subsequently donated the equipment to the agency after the completion of the project.
“Rather than withdrawing these devices, they opted to donate them to BuCor, aiding the agency and prison officials in various ways, including monitoring the status of persons deprived of liberty to determine eligibility for early release, calculating or reviewing credits for preventive imprisonment and time allowances for PDLs and maintaining health information for PDLs, which can be crucial in emergencies,” Catapang said.
He said the EU-provided ICT equipment will be distributed to seven operational prisons and penal farms across the nation, including the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan, Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro, San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro, and Leyte Regional Prison in Leyte.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has said that the digitization of the carpeta of the more than 50,000 inmates in BuCor prison facilities would help decongest the agency’s prison facilities by speeding up the release of inmates with good records while in detention and those who have completed their sentences.
Remulla tapped the Public Attorneys Office to help the BuCor in digitizing the inmates’ records.
The need to have a digitized carpeta was spurred by the crisis during the Duterte administration when prisoners, including those convicted of heinous crimes, were released due to the Good Conduct Time Allowance that saw the DOJ scrambling for information and data about time spent in detention of the inmates.
The flawed records of the BuCor led to the release of 1,914 heinous crime convicts who were subsequently either hunted by the authorities or asked to return to prison.
One of the high-profile inmates who nearly gained freedom due to the GCTA mess was former Calauan, Laguna mayor Antonio Sanchez, who was convicted for the rape-slay of UP Los Banos students Eileen Sarmenta and Alan Gomez.
Sanchez subsequently died in detention due to a lingering illness.
In a related development, Catapang also announced the operationalization of the One BuCor Portal’s Inmate Management Information System, a centralized platform for overseeing the agency’s operations.
“This system features various components such as the Document Tracking System, Human Resource Management Information System under the Administrative Information System, and includes aspects of Procurement, Delivery, Issuance, and Inventory within the Logistics Information System, along with comprehensive management of PDL records through the Inmate Management Information System,” the BuCor chief said.
Catapang said the system would allow for a seamless operation and management of the BuCor’s detention facilities, prisoners and personnel.
