correction

WHAT IS CORRECTION?

Correction is the branch of the administration of CJS charged with the responsibility for

the custody, supervision, and rehabilitation of convicted offenders. It is also defined as the

STUDY OF JAIL OR PRISON MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION as well as the

rehabilitation and reformation of criminals.

INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY-BASED CORRECTIONS

Not all convicted offenders have to serve their sentence behind bars. Some are allowed

to stay in the community, subject to conditions imposed by the government. They are either

granted Probation, Parole, Conditional Pardon or Recognizance. Non-institutional corrections

refer to the method of correcting sentenced offenders without having to go to prison.

The advantages of community-based corrections are:

1. Family members need not be victims also for the imprisonment of a member because

the convict can still continue to support his family, and not to be far away from his

children;

2. Rehabilitation will be more effective as the convict will not be exposed to hardened

criminals in prisons who will only influence him to a life of crime;

3. Rehabilitation can be monitored by the community; thus, corrections can be made and

be more effective; and

4. The cost of incarceration will be eliminated which is extremely beneficial, especially to

a cash-strapped government.

DUAL PURPOSE OF CORRECTIONS

1. To punish

2. To rehabilitate the offender

Among the five pillars of the criminal justice system, corrections are the least heard, known

or understood society seems to have some reluctance to look at it although its role in the

reformation and rehabilitation of offenders cannot be overemphasized. Furthermore, jail

administration and control in our country is distributed to at least, four agencies:

The BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS (BUCOR), under the DOJ; has supervision over the

national penitentiary and its penal farms;

The BUREAU OF JAIL MANAGEMENT AND PENOLOGY (BJMP), under the DILG; has

exclusive control over all city, municipal and district Jails nationwide;

The PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS, under DILG; supervise and control their respective

provincial and sub-provincial Jails; andThe DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT (DSWD), which takes

care of, among others, youthful offenders entered in detention centers for juveniles, aside from

these,

Other agencies under this pillar are the: (Community-Based Correction)

1. The Parole and Probation Administration (PPA) under the Department of Justice

(DOJ); and

2. The Board of Pardons and Parole is also under the Department of Justice.

DECONGESTION OF JAILS

● Jail congestion is not a recent phenomenon, nor is it confined in the Philippines alone.

Jail congestion is WORLDWIDE.

● This problem is PREVALENT IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES.

● In our country, jail congestion, particularly in big cities and municipalities, has been a

PERENNIAL PROBLEM ever since.

There are several laws, decrees, and circulars which we implement to decongest our jails.,

LAW AND DECREES USUALLY AVAILED OF TO DECONGEST JAILS

1. Presidential Decree No. 603, known as the Child and Youth Welfare Code, suspends

the sentence of minor offenders whose ages range from nine (9) years to under eighteen

(18) years and places them in rehabilitation centers under the supervision of the Department

of Social Welfare and Development before they are released to the custody of their parents

or to any responsible person.

2. Batas Pambansa Bilang 85, authorizes the release of a detainee who has undergone

preventive imprisonment equivalent to the maximum imposable sentence for the offense he

is charged with

3. Article 96 of the Revised Penal Code, provides that in meritorious cases, the

commutation of the prisoner’s sentence through presidential action shall be upon the

recommendation of the court which imposed the same; and ARTICLE 97, provides that a

prisoner shall be entitled to a deduction from his prison term for good conduct; and

4. DOJ Memorandum Circular no. 6 which directs all wardens or anyone in charge of

local jails to effect the immediate transfer of national prisoners to the Bureau of corrections.

5. Republic Act No. 9165- Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act of 2002 (July 4, 2002)

-1st-time minor offender (probation) for use 2 possession only. /deport

6. Republic Act No. 9344 – Juvenile & Justice Welfare Act of 2006 (May)7. Republic Act No. 6036, known as the release on recognizance law, provides for the

release of offenders charged with an offense whose penalty is not more than six (6) months

and/or a fine of Two Thousand pesos (2,000) or both, to the custody of a responsible person

in the community, instead of a bail bond;

8. Presidential Decree No. 968 July 24, 1976, is the Philippine Probation Law of 1976.

Probation is, of course, a very important legal instrument that contributes to the decongestion

of Philippine jails.

APPROACHES OF PHILIPPINE CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM

The Philippine Correctional System has two approaches, and these are, the Community based

(Non-Institutional Corrections) and Institutional-based

(Institutional Corrections) systems.

1. The Institution-Based Approach- The rehabilitation of offenders in jail or prison

The institution-based approach has three levels and are manned by three different government

agencies responsible for the supervision and control of the numerous institutional facilities

nationwide which provide safekeeping and rehabilitation of inmates, namely:

1. The national prison and penal farms under the Department of justice,

2. The provincial and sub-provincial jails under the provincial government; and

3. The City, Municipal, and District Jails are under the Department of Interior and Local

Government.

The Bureau of Corrections, headed by a director, under the department of Justice,

supervises and controls the national prisons and penal farms.

2. Non-Institutional Correction or Community-Based Approach- It refers to

correctional activities that may take place within the community or the method of correcting

sentenced offenders without having to go to prison.

Not all convicted offenders have to serve their sentence behind bars. Some of them are

allowed to stay in the community, subject to the conditions imposed by the court.

They are either granted probation, parole, conditional pardon or recognizance.

The parole and probation Administration under the Department of Justice is the government

agency that supervises the activities of the probationer, parolee and pardonee and monitors his

compliance with the conditions imposed