BUREAU of Corrections (BuCor) Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Gregorio Catapang Jr. on Thursday administered the oath to 533 new corrections officers at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) compound in Muntinlupa City.

The new corrections officers were part of the second recruitment cycle this year, BuCor said in a statement, adding that the hiring was aimed at reforming the “troubled” agency.

Of the number, 289 will be assigned to the densely-packed NBP, an institution rocked by controversies, the latest of which was the relief of prison chief Gerald Bantag over the hugely-controversial deaths of Percy Lapid and middleman Jun Villamor.

Self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial upon his surrender, claimed that the order to assassinate Lapid came inside the walls of NBP.

BuCor is an attached agency of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The BuCor prison facilities are The Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF) in Palawan, San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm (SRPPF) in Zamboanga City, Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City, Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm (SPPF) in Oriental Mindoro, New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa;

The Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF) in Davao del Norte, and Leyte Regional Prison (LRP) in Southern Leyte.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Hector Lawas