Correctional Administration

Institutional Corrections
Definition Of Terms
Alcatraz - a US federal penitentiary, Often referred to as "The Rock",
the small island of alcatraz was developed with facilities for a lighthouse,
a military fortification, a military prison (1868), and a federal prison
from 1933 until 1963.
Alexander Maconochie - was a Scottish naval officer, geographer, and
penal reformer. He is known as the Father of Parole.
His 2 Basic Principle of Penology
1. As cruelty debases both the victim and society, punishment
should not be vindictive but should aim at the reform of
the convict to observe social constraints, and
2. A convict's imprisonment should consist of task, not time
sentences, with release depending on the performance of a
measurable amount of labour.
Auburn Prison - Constructed in 1816 ,(opened 1819) it was the second
state prison in New York, the site of the first execution by electric
chair in 1890. It uses the silent or congregate system.
Banishment - a punishment originating in ancient times, that required
offenders to leave the community and live elsewhere, commonly in the
wilderness.
BJMP - (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology) government agency
mandated by law (RA 6975) to take operational and administrative control
over all city, district and municipal jails.
It takes custody of detainees accused before a court who are temporarily
confined in such jails while undergoing investigation, waiting final
judgement and those who are serving sentence promulgated by the court
3 years and below.
- created Jan. 2, 1991.
- Charles S. Mondejar - 1st BJMP chief.
- BJMP chief tour of duty, must not exceed 4 years, maybe
extended by President. Grounds:
1. In times of war
2. other national emergencies.
- Senior superintendent - the rank from which the BJMP chief
is appointed. This is the rank of the BJMP Directors of
the Directorates in the National Headquarters. This is also
the rank of the Regional Director for Jail Management
and Penology.
- Chief of the BJMP - Highest ranking BJMP officer. Appointed
by the President upon recommendation of DILG Secretary. Rank
is Director.
- BJMP Deputy Chief for Administration - the 2nd highest ranking
BJMP officer. Appointed by the President upon recommendation
of the DILG Secretary. Rank is Chief Superintendent.
- BJMP Deputy Chief for Operations - the 3rd highest ranking
BJMP officer. Appointed by the President upon recommendation
of the DILG Secretary. Rank is Chief Superintendent.
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- BJMP Chief of the Directorial Staff - the 4th highest BJMP

officer. Appointed by the President upon recommendation of
the DILG Secretary. Rank is Chief Superintendents.
Borstal - a custodial institution for young offenders.
Borstal System - rehabilitation method formerly used in Great Britain for
delinquent boys aged 16 to 21. The idea originated (1895) with the
Gladstone Committee as an attempt to reform young offenders. The first
institution was established (1902) at Borstal Prison, Kent, England.
Branding - stigmatizing is the process in which a mark, usually a symbol
or ornamental pattern, is burned into the skin of a living person, with
the intention that the resulting scar makes it permanent as a punishment
or imposing masterly rights over an enslaved or otherwise oppressed person.
Bridewell Prison and Workhouse - was the first correctional institution
in England and was a precursor of the modern prison. Built initially as
a royal residence in 1523, Bridewell Palace was given to the city of
London to serve as the foundation for as system of Houses of Correction
known as Bridewells. These institutions, eventually numbering 200 in
Britain, housed vagrants, homeless children, petty offenders,
disorderly women, prisoners of war, soldiers, and colonists sent
to Virginia.
Bridewell Prison and Hospital - was established in a former royal palace
in 1553 with two purposes: the punishment of the disorderly poor and
housing of homeless children in the City of London.
Bureau of Corrections - has for its principal task the rehabilitation
of national prisoners, or those sentenced to serve a term of imprisonment
of more than three years.
- has 7 prison facilities
- 1 prison institution for women
- 1 vocational training centre for juveniles.
- Classification Board - classifies inmates according to
their security status.
- Reception and Diagnostic Centre - (RDC) receives, studies
and classifies inmates committed to Bureau of Corrections.
- Board of Discipline - hears complaints and grievances with
regard to violations of prison rules and regulations.
- Iwahig Penal Farm - established in 1904 upon orders of Gov.
Forbes, then the Sec. of Commerce and police.
- New Bilibid Prison - established in 1941 in Muntinlupa
Camp Bukang Liwayway - minimum security prison.
Camp Sampaguita - medium security prison
- Davao penal Colony - established jan 21, 1932 (RA 3732)
- Sablayan Penal Colony and Farm - established Sept.27, 1954
(Proclamation No.72) location:Occidental Mindoro
- Leyte Regional Prison - established Jan.16, 1973
- Old Bilibid Prison - First Penal Institution in the Phil.
designated as insular penitentiary by Royal Decree in 1865.
Burning at Stake - a form of ancient punishment by tying the victim
in a vertical post and burning him/her.
Cesare Beccaria - an Italian criminologist, jurist, philosopher and
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politician best known for his treaties On Crimes and Punishments (1764),
which condemned torture and the death penalty, and was a founding work
in the field of penology and the Classical School of criminology
Charles Montesquieu - a french lawyer, who analyzed law as an expression
of justice. He is famous for his articulation of the theory of separation
of powers, which is implemented in many constitutions throughout the world.
Code of Justinian - formally Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law),
Justinian I the collections of laws and legal interpretations developed
under the sponsorship of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I from AD
529 to 565.
Commitment Order - is an act of sending a person to prison by means of
such a warrant or order.
Correctional Administration - the study and practice of a system of
managing jails and prisons and other institutions concerned with the
custody, treatment and rehabilitation of criminal offenders.
Corrections - describes a variety of functions typically carried out
by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and
supervision of persons who have been convicted of crimes.
Death Row - refers to incarcerated persons who have been sentenced to
death and are awaiting execution.
Deterrence - as contended by Cesare Beccaria, proponent of the
classical theory, that punishment is to prevent others from
committing crime.
Director Charles S. Mondejar - the first Chief of BJMP. He took his
oath of office on July 1 of 1991.
District Jail - is a cluster of small jails, each having a monthly
average population of ten or less inmates, and is located in the
vicinity of the court.
Draco - was the first legislator of ancient Athens, Greece, 7th century
BC. He replaced the prevailing system of oral law and blood feud by a
written code to be enforced only by a court.
Ducking Stool - a chair fastened to the end of a pole, used formerly
to plunge offenders into a pond or river as a punishment.
Dungeon - a dark cell, usually underground where prisoners are confined.
Elmira Reformatory - located in new York, was originally a prison opened
to contain Confederate prisoners of war during the Civil War. It became
known as a death camp because of the squalid conditions and high death
rate in its few years of operation. Established 1876.
Elmira System - An American penal system named after Elmira Reformatory,
in New York. In 1876 Zebulon R. Brockway became an innovator in the
reformatory movement by establishing Elmira Reformatory for young felons.
The Elmira system classified and separated various types of prisoners,
gave them individualized treatment emphasizing vocational training and
industrial employment, used indeterminate sentences.
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Ergastulum - is a Roman prison used to confine slaves. They were attached

to work benches and forced to do hard labor in period of imprisonment.
Exemplarity - the criminal is punished to serve as an example to others
to deter further commission of crime.
Expiation - (Atonement) execution of punishment visibly or publicly for
the purpose of appeasing a social group. Expiation is a group vengeance
as distinguished from retribution.
First Women's Prison - opened in Indiana 1873. Based on the reformatory
model.
Four Classes of Prisoners
1. Insular or national prisoner one who is sentenced to a prison term
of three years and one day to death;
2. Provincial prisoner one who is sentenced to a prison term of six
months and one day to three years;
3. City prisoner one who is sentenced to a prison term of one day
to three years; and
4. Municipal Prisoner one who is sentenced to a prison term of one
day to six months.
Flogging - (Flog) beat (someone) with a whip or stick as a punishment.
Fred T. Wilkinson - last warden of the Alcatraz prison.
Galley - a low, flat ship with one or more sails and up to three banks
of oars, chiefly used for warfare or piracy and often manned by slaves
or criminals.
Goals of Criminal Sentencing
1. Retribution
2. Punishment
3. Deterrence
4. Incapacitation
5. Rehabilitation
6. Reintegration
7. Restoration
Golden Age Of Penology - 1870 - 1880
Guillotine - an ancient form of capital punishment by cutting the
head.
Halfway House - a center for helping former drug addicts, prisoners,
psychiatric patients, or others to adjust to life in general society.
Hammurabi's Code - an ancient code which contain both civil and criminal
law. First known codified law prior to Roman law. Better organized and
comprehensive than biblical law. One of its law is lex taliones (an eye
for an eye)
Hedonism - the ethical theory that pleasure (in the sense of the
satisfaction of desires) is the highest good and proper aim of human life.
Hulk - an old ship stripped of fittings and permanently moored,
especially for use as storage or (formerly) as a prison.
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Impalement - (Impaling) a form of capital punishment, is the penetration

of an organism by an object such as a stake, pole, spear or hook, by
complete (or partial) perforation of the body, often the central body mass.
Killing by piercing the body with a spear or sharp pole.
Institutional Corrections - refers to those persons housed in secure
correctional facilities.
Jail - is defined as a place of confinement for inmates under investigation
or undergoing trial, or serving short-term sentences
Gaol - old name/term of jail.
Three Types of Detainees
1. Those undergoing investigation;
2. those awaiting or undergoing trial; and
3. those awaiting final judgment
Jails - holds
a. Convicted offenders serving short sentences
b. Convicted offenders awaiting transfer to prison
c. Offenders who have violated their probation or parole
d. Defendants who are awaiting trial
James V. Bennett - was a leading American penal reformer and prison
administrator who served as director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons
(FBOP) from 1937 to 1964. He was one of the strongest advocates in the
movement in persuading Congress to close Alcatraz and replace it with
a new maximum-security prison, eventually successful in 1963 when
it closed.
January 2, 1991 - the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology was
created thru Republic Act 6975 as a line Bureau under the Department
of Interior and Local Government.
Jean Jacques Villain - pioneered classification to separate women and
children from hardened criminals.
Jeremy Bentham - a prison reformer, believed that the prisoner should
suffer a severe regime, but that it should not be detrimental to the
prisoner's health. He designed the Panopticon in 1791.
John Howard - a philanthropist and the first English prison reformer.
Justice - crime must be punished by the state as an act of retributive
justice, vindication of absolute right and moral law violated by the
criminal.
lapidation - (Stoning) the act of pelting with stones; punishment
inflicted by throwing stones at the victim.
Lex Taliones - an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Lockups - Suspects usually stay in a lockup for only 24 to 48 hours.
A suspect may later be transferred from the lockup to the jail.
Mamertine Prison - was a prison (carcer) located in the Comitium
in ancient Rome. It was originally created as a cistern for a spring
in the floor of the second lower level. Prisoners were lowered through
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an opening into the lower dungeon.

Mark System - developed in Australia by Alexander Maconochie, whereby
credits, or marks, were awarded for good behaviour, a certain number of
marks being required for release.
Mittimus - is a process issued by the court after conviction to carry
out the final judgment, such as commanding a prison warden to hold the
accused, in accordance with the terms of the judgment. Mittimus is
often attached on the commitment order issued by the court whenever the
convict is to be transferred to prison for service of sentence.
Mortality rate - A measure of the frequency of deaths in a defined
population during a specified interval of time.
Mutilation or maiming - an ancient form of punishment, is an act of
physical injury that degrades the appearance or function of any living
body, sometimes causing death.
National Prisons Association - was organized in Cincinnati in 1870.
Neo-Classical - children and lunatics should not be punished as they
can not calculate pleasure and pain.
Classical Theory - pain must exceed pleasure to deter crime.
All are punished regardless of age, mental condition, social
status and other circumstances.
Positivist Theory - criminal is a sick person and should be
treated and not punished.
Eclectic - it means selecting the best of various styles
or ideas.
Newgate Prison - not a real prison but an abandoned copper mine of
Simsbury Connecticut. Inmates are confined underground (Black hole
of horrors).
Operational capacity - the number of inmates that can be accommodated
based on a facility's staff, existing programs, and services.
Panopticon - a prison design, allowed a centrally placed observer to
survey all the inmates, as prison wings radiated out from this
central position.
Parole - refers to criminal offenders who are conditionally released
from prison to serve the remaining portion of their sentence in the
community.
Parole and Probation Administration (PPA) - was created pursuant to
Presidential Decree (P.D.) No.968, as amended, to administer the
probation system. Under Executive Order No. 292, the Probation
Administration was renamed as the Parole and Probation Administration,
and given the added function of supervising prisoners who, after serving
part of their sentence in jails are released on parole or granted
conditional pardon. The PPA and the Board of Pardons and Parole are
the agencies involved in the non-institutional treatment of offenders.
Penal Management - refers to the manner or practice of managing or
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controlling places of confinement such as jails and prisons.

PD No. 603 - was promulgated to provide for the care and treatment of
youth offenders from the time of apprehension up to the termination
of the case.
Under this law, a youth offender is defined as a child, minor
or youth who is over nine years but under eighteen years of
age at the time of the commission of the offence.
Pennsylvania and New York - pioneered the penitentiary movement by
developing two competing systems of confinement. The Pennsylvania
system and the Auburn system.
Pennsylvania System - An early system of U.S. penology in
which inmates were kept in solitary cells so that they could
study religious writings, reflect on their misdeeds, and
perform handicraft work.(Solitary System).
Auburn System - An early system of penology, originating
at Auburn Penitentiary in New York, under which inmates
worked and ate together in silence during the day and were
placed in solitary cells for the evening.(Congregate System)
Penology - a branch of Criminology that deals with prison management
and reformation of criminals.
Poene (latin) - penalty
Logos (latin) - science
Pillory - a wooden framework with holes for the head and hands, in which
offenders were formerly imprisoned and exposed to public abuse.
Prison - which refers to the national prisons or penitentiaries managed
and supervised by the Bureau of Corrections, an agency under the
Department of Justice.
Prison Hulks - (1776-1857) were ships which were anchored in the Thames,
and at Portsmouth and Plymouth. Those sent to them were employed in hard
labour during the day and then loaded, in chains, onto the ship at night.
Prison Reform - is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons,
aiming at a more effective penal system.
Probation - Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over
an offender, ordered by a court instead of serving time in prison.
John Augustus - Father of Probation. Augustus was born in Woburn,
Massachusetts in 1785. By 1829, he was a permanent resident
of Boston and the owner of a successful boot-making business.
Father Cook - a chaplain of the Boston Prison visited the courts
and gained acceptance as an advisor who made enquiries into the
circumstances of both adult and juvenile offenders
Provincial Jail - under the office of the Governor. Where the imposable
penalty for the crime committed is more than six months and the same was
committed within the municipality, the offender must serve his or her
sentence in the provincial jail.
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Where the penalty imposed exceeds three years, the offender

shall serve his or her sentence in the penal institutions of
the Bureau of Corrections.
Punishment - the infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution
for an offence.
Quakers - (or Friends, as they refer to themselves) are members of a
family of religious movements collectively known as the Religious
Society of Friends. Many Quakers have worked for reform of the criminal
justice systems of their day. Quakers believe that people can always
change: their focus has been on reforms that make positive change more
likely, such as increased opportunities for education, improved prison
conditions, help with facing up to violent impulses, and much else.
William Penn - founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the
English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania.was the first great Quaker prison reformer.
In his Great Experiment in Pennsylvania in the 1680s he
abolished capital punishment for all crimes except murder.
He also stated that prisons shall be workhouses, that bail
should be allowed for minor offences, and all prisons shall
be free, as to fees, food and lodgings. He provided for
rehabilitation, as he stipulated that prisoners should be
helped to learn a trade, so that they could make an honest
living when they were released.
John Bellers - (1654-1725) was the earliest British Friend to
pay serious and systematic attention to social reform. He
pleaded for the abolition of the death penalty, the first
time this plea had been made. He argued that criminals were
the creation of society itself and urged that when in prison
there should be work for prisoners so that they might return
to the world with an urge to industry.
Elizabeth Fry - (1780-1845) was the most famous of Quaker
reformers, though others were equally influential in raising
public awareness. Reforms such as the separation of women and
children from men and the development of purposeful activity
of work or education came about through pressure from
informed people.
RA 6975 - sec.60 to 65, created the BJMP.
Rank Classification of BJMP
Director
Chief Superintendent
Senior Superintendent
Superintendent
Chief Inspector
Senior Inspector
Inspector
Senior Jail Officer IV
Senior Jail Officer III
Senior Jail Officer II
Senior Jail Officer I
Jail Officer III
Jail Officer II
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Jail Officer I
RA 10575 - The Bureau of Corrections Act of 2013.
Rack - a form of torture or punishment wherein pain is inflicted to
to the body through stretching.
Rated Capacity - the number of beds or inmates assigned by a rating
official to institutions within the jurisdiction.
Reformation - the object of punishment in a criminal case is to correct
and reform the offender.
Reformatory Movement - The reformatory movement was based on principles
adopted at the 1870 meeting of the National Prison Association.
The reformatory was designed:
a. for younger, less hardened offenders.
b. based on a military model of regimentation.
c. with indeterminate terms.
d. with parole or early release for favorable progress
in reformation.
Rehabilitation - to restore a criminal to a useful life, to a life in
which they contribute to themselves and to society.
Retribution - punishment inflicted on someone as vengeance for a wrong
or criminal act.
Security Level - A designation applied to a facility to describe the
measures taken, both inside and outside, to preserve security and custody.
The simplest security level categorization is:
a. maximum
b. medium
c. minimum
Maximum - security facilities are characterized by very
tight internal and external security.
Common security measures include: (Maximum)
- A high wall or razor-wire fencing
- Armed-guard towers
- Electronic detectors
- External armed patrol
- A wide, open buffer zone between the outer wall or fence
and the community.
- Restrictions on inmate movement
- The capability of closing off areas to contain riots or
disruptions.
Houses the following inmates:
- Those sentenced to death
- Those sentenced with min. 20 years
- Those remanded inmates/detainees with min. 20 years sentence
- Those whose sentences is under review by SC (min.20 years)
- Those whose sentences is under appeal (min.20 years)
- Those with pending cases
- Those who are recidivist
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Ultra-Maximum/Super-Maximum Security Prison - house notorious

offenders and problem inmates from other institutions.
These institutions utilize: Total isolation of inmates,
Constant lockdowns
Medium-security institutions - place fewer restrictions on
inmate movement inside the facility.
Characteristics often include:(Medium)
- Dormitory or barracks-type living quarters
- No external security wall
- Barbed wire rather than razor wire
- Fences and towers that look less forbidding
Houses the following inmates:
- Those sentenced to less than 20 years
Minimum-security prisons - are smaller and more open.
They often house inmates who:
- Have established records of good behavior
- Are nearing release
Characteristics often include:(Minimum)
- Dormitory or barracks living quarters
- No fences
- Some inmates may be permitted to leave during the day
to work or study.
- Some inmates may be granted furloughs
Sing Sing Prison - was the third prison built by New York State. It is
a maximum security prison.
Sir Evelyn Ruggles Brise - was a British prison administrator and
reformer, and founder of the Borstal system.
Sir Walter Crofton - the director of Irish prisons. In his program,
known as the Irish system, prisoners progressed through three stages of
confinement before they were returned to civilian life. The first portion
of the sentence was served in isolation. After that, prisoners were
assigned to group work projects.
Stocks - instrument of punishment consisting of a heavy timber frame with
holes in which the feet and sometimes the hands of an offender can
be locked.
Three major government functionaries involved in the Philippine
correctional system:
1. DOJ
2. DILG
3. DSWD
DOJ - supervises the national penitentiaries through the
Bureau of Corrections, administers the parole and probation
system through the Parole and Probation Administration, and
assists the President in the grant of executive clemency through
the Board of Pardons and Parole.
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DILG - supervises the provincial, district, city and municipal

jails through the provincial governments and the Bureau of
Jail Management and Penology, respectively.
DSWD - supervises the regional rehabilitation centres for
youth offenders through the Bureau of Child and Youth Welfare.
Transportation - a punishment in which offenders were transported from
their home nation to one of that nation's colony to work.
Twelve Tables - The Law of the Twelve Tables (Latin: Leges Duodecim
Tabularum or Duodecim Tabulae) was the ancient legislation that stood
at the foundation of Roman law. Established basic procedural rights
for all Roman citizens as against one another
Underground Cistern - a reservoir for storing liquids, underground tank
for storing water. This was also used prison in ancient times.
Utilitarianism - a tradition stemming from the late 18th- and 19th-century
English philosophers and economists Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill
that an action is right if it tends to promote happiness and wrong if
it tends to produce the reverse of happinessnot just the happiness of
the performer of the action but also that of everyone affected by it.
Voltaire - believes that fear of shame is a deterrent to crime.
Walnut Street Jail - opened in 1790 in Philadelphia. Considered the 1st
state prison. Inmates labored in solitary cells and received large
doses of religious training.
Workhouses - European forerunners of the modern U.S. prison, where
offenders were sent to learn discipline and regular work habits.
Zebulon Reed Brockway - was a penologist and is sometimes regarded as
the Father of prison reform and Father of American Parole in the
United States.

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Non-Institutional Corrections
Board of Pardons and Parole - was created pursuant to Act No. 4103,
as amended. It is the intent of the law to uplift and redeem valuable
human material to economic usefulness and to prevent unnecessary
and excessive deprivation of personal liberty.
Functions
1. To grant parole to qualified prisoners;
2. To recommend to the President the grant of pardon and other
forms of executive clemency;
3. To authorize the transfer of residence of parolees and
pardonees, order their arrest and recommitment, or grant
their final release and discharge.
Basis for Grant of Parole
1. The prisoner is fit to be released;
2. There is a reasonable probability that, if released, he
or she will live and remain at liberty without violating
the law; and
3. His or her release will not be incompatible with the
welfare of society.
How May Executive Clemency Be Exercised?
1. Reprieve
2. Absolute pardon
3. Conditional pardon
4. Commutation of sentence.
Commutation refers to the reduction of the duration of a
prison sentence of a prisoner.
Commutation Allowed When:
1. person is over 70 years old
2. 8 justices fail to reach a decision affirming the
death penalty
Absolute Pardon - An act of grace, proceeding from the power
entrusted with the execution of the laws, Exempts the individual
from the penalty of the crime he has committed.
Conditional Pardon - If delivered and accepted, it is a contract
between the executive and the convict that the former will
release the latter upon compliance with the condition.
Example of a condition:
Not to violate any of the penal laws of the country again.
Reprieve - refers to the deferment of the implementation of
the sentence for an interval of time; it does not annul the
sentence but merely postpones or suspends its execution
Basis for Grant of Executive Clemency
The BPP recommends to the President the grant of executive
clemency when any of the following circumstances are present:
1. The trial or appellate court recommended in its decision
the grant of executive clemency for the prisoner
2. Under the peculiar circumstances of the case, the penalty
imposed is too harsh compared to the crime committed
3. Offender qualifies as a youth offender at the time of the
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commission of the offence

4. Prisoner is seventy years old and above;
5. Prisoner is terminally-ill;
6. Alien prisoners where diplomatic considerations and amity
among nations necessitate review and
7. Other similar or analogous circumstances whenever the
interest of justice will be served thereby
When Applications for Executive Clemency will not be
Favourably Acted Upon by The Board of Pardon and Parole
1. Convicted of evasion of service of sentence;
2. Who violated the conditions of their conditional pardon;
3. Who are habitual delinquents or recidivists;
4. Convicted of kidnapping for ransom;
5. Convicted of violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972
and the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002;
6. Convicted of offences committed under the influence of drugs
7. Whose release from prison may constitute a danger to society.
Issues Confronting The Philippine Corrections System
1. Overcrowding of Certain Prison Institutions/Jails
2. Fragmented Set-Up of the Corrections System
3. Lack of Information Technology Systems and Expertise
4. Lack of/Inadequate Training - lack of awareness and
understanding by some prison/jail officials and staff on
the rights of inmates.
Petitions for parole shall be addressed to the Chairman or to
the Executive Director of the Board. However, the Board may,
motu proprio , consider cases for parole, commutation of
sentence or conditional pardon of deserving prisoners whenever
the interest of justice will be served thereby.
Minimum Requirements A Prisoner Must Meet Before Petitions for
executive clemency may be reviewed.
For Commutation of Sentence
1. The prisoner shall have served at least one-third (1/3)
of the minimum of his indeterminate and/or definite
sentence or the aggregate minimum of his indeterminate
and/or definite sentences.
2. At least ten (10) years for prisoners sentenced to
Reclusion Perpetua or Life imprisonment for crimes or
offenses committed before January 1, 1994.
3. At least twelve (12) years for prisoners whose sentences
were adjusted to a definite prison term of forty (40)
years in accordance with the provisions of Article 70
of the Revised Penal Code, as amended.
4. At least fifteen (15) years for prisoners convicted of
heinous crimes as defined in Republic Act No. 7659 and
other special laws committed on or after January 1, 1994
and sentenced to one or more Reclusion Perpetua or Life
imprisonment.
5. At least twenty (20) years in case of one (1) or more
Death penalty/penalties, which was/were automatically
reduced or commuted to one (1) or more Reclusion Perpetua
or Life imprisonment.
For Conditional Pardon
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The prisoner shall have served at least one-half (1/2) of

the minimum of his original indeterminate and/or definite
sentence. However, in the case of a prisoner who is convicted
of a heinous crime as defined in Republic Act No. 7659 and
other special laws, he shall have served at least one-half
(1/2) of the maximum of his original indeterminate sentence
before his case may be reviewed for conditional pardon.
For Absolute Pardon
After he has served his maximum sentence or granted final
release and discharge or court termination of probation.
However, the Board may consider a petition for absolute
pardon even before the grant of final release and discharge
under the provisions of Section 6 of Act No. 4103, as amended,
as when the petitioner: (1) is seeking an appointive/elective
public position or reinstatement in the government service;
(2) needs medical treatment abroad which is not available
locally; (3) will take any government examination; or
(4) is emigrating.
Prisoners who escaped or evaded service of sentence are not
eligible for executive clemency for a period of one (1) year
from the date of their last recommitment to prison or
conviction for evasion of service of sentence.
Bureau of Correction - Where the penalty imposed exceeds three years,
the offender shall serve his or her sentence in the penal institutions
of the BuCor.
Carpeta - refers to the institutional record of an inmate which
consists of his mittimus or commitment order issued by the Court after
conviction, the prosecutor's information and the decisions of the
trial court and the appellate court, if any; certificate of non-appeal,
certificate of detention and other pertinent documents of the case.
District Jail - is a cluster of small jails, each having a monthly
average population of ten or less inmates, and is located in the
vicinity of the court.
Jail - is defined as a place of confinement for inmates under
investigation or undergoing trial, or serving short-term
sentences.
- Jails include provincial, district, city and municipal
jails managed and supervised by the Provincial Government
and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP),
respectively, which are both under the Department of the
Interior and Local Government.
Municipal and city prisoners are committed to municipal, city
or district jails managed by the BJMP.
Prison - refers to the national prisons or penitentiaries
managed and supervised by the Bureau of Corrections, an agency
under the Department of Justice.
- prison refers to the national prisons or penitentiaries
managed and supervised by the Bureau of Corrections,
an agency under the Department of Justice.
Provincial Jail - Where the imposable penalty for the crime
committed is more than six months and the same was committed
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within the municipality, the offender must serve his or her

sentence in the provincial jail which is under the Office of
the Governor.
Executive Clemency - refers to Reprieve, Absolute Pardon, Conditional
Pardon with or without Parole Conditions and Commutation of Sentence
as may be granted by the President of the Philippines.
Indeterminate Sentence Law
The indeterminate sentence is composed of:
1. a MAXIMUM taken from the penalty imposable under the penal code
2. a MINIMUM taken from the penalty next lower to that fixed in the code.
The law does not apply to certain offenders:
1. Persons convicted of offense punished with death penalty or
life imprisonment.
2. Those convicted of treason, conspiracy or proposal to commit
treason.
3. Those convicted of misprision of treason, rebellion, sedition
or espionage.
4. Those convicted of piracy.
5. Those who are habitual delinquents.
6. Those who shall have escaped from confinement or evaded sentence.
7. Those who violated the terms of conditional pardon granted to
them by the Chief Executive.
8. Those whose maximum term of imprisonment does not exceed one year.
9. Those who, upon the approval of the law, had been sentenced
by final judgment.
10. Those sentenced to the penalty of destierro or suspension.
Purpose of the law: to uplift and redeem valuable human material
and prevent unnecessary and excessive deprivation of liberty
and economic usefulness
- It is necessary to consider the criminal first as an
individual, and second as a member of the society.
- The law is intended to favor the defendant, particularly
to shorten his term of imprisonment, depending upon his
behavior and his physical, mental and moral record as a
prisoner, to be determined by the Board of Indeterminate
Sentence.
The settled practice is to give the accused the benefit of the
law even in crimes punishable with death or life imprisonment
provided the resulting penalty, after considering the attending
circumstances, is reclusion temporal or less.
ISL does not apply to destierro. ISL is expressly granted to
those who are sentenced to imprisonment exceeding 1 year.
Procedure For Determining The Maximum and Minimum Sentence
- It consists of a maximum and a minimum instead of a single
fixed penalty.
- Prisoner must serve the minimum before he is eligible
for parole.
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- The period between the minimum and maximum is indeterminate

in the sense that the prisoner may be exempted from serving
said indeterminate period in whole or in part.
- The maximum is determined in any case punishable under the
RPC in accordance with the rules and provisions of said
code exactly as if the ISL had never been enacted.
- Apply first the effect of privileged mitigating
circumstances then consider the effects of aggravating and
ordinary mitigating circumstances.
- The minimum depends upon the courts discretion with the
limitation that it must be within the range of the penalty
next lower in degree to that prescribed by the Code for the
offense committed.
- NOTE: A minor who escaped from confinement in the reformatory
is entitled to the benefits of the ISL because his confinement
is not considered imprisonment.
Parole The suspension of the sentence of the convict after serving
the minimum term of the intermediate penalty, without being granted a
pardon, prescribing the terms upon which the sentence shall be suspended.
- May be given after the prisoner has served the minimum
penalty; is granted by the Board of Pardons and Parole under the
provisions of the Indeterminate Sentence Law.
Disqualification for Parole - The following prisoners shall
not be granted parole:
1. Those convicted of an offense punished with Death penalty,
Reclusion Perpetua or Life imprisonment;
2. Those convicted of treason, conspiracy or proposal to commit
treason or espionage;
3. Those convicted of misprision of treason, rebellion, sedition
or coup d'etat;
4. Those convicted of piracy or mutiny on the high seas or
Philippine waters;
5. Those who are habitual delinquents i.e. those who, within a
period of ten (10) years from the date of release from prison
or last conviction of the crimes of serious or less serious
physical injuries, robbery, theft, estafa and falsification,
are found guilty of any of said crimes a third time or oftener;
6. Those who escaped from confinement or evaded sentence;
7. Those who were granted Conditional Pardon and violated any
of the terms thereof;
8. Those whose maximum term of imprisonment does not exceed one
(1) year or those with definite sentence;
9. Those suffering from any mental disorder as certified by a
government psychiatrist/psychologist;
10.Those whose conviction is on appeal;
11.Those who have pending criminal case/s.
Special Factors - The Board may give special consideration to
the recommendation for commutation of sentence or conditional
pardon whenever any of the following circumstances are present
1. Youthful offenders;
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2. Prisoners who are sixty (60) years old and above;

3. Physical disability such as when the prisoner is bedridden,
a deaf mute, a leper, a cripple or is blind or similar
disabilities;
4. Serious illness and other life-threatening disease as
certified by a government physician;
5. Those prisoners recommended for the grant of executive clemency
by the trial/appellate court as stated in the decision;
6. Alien prisoners where diplomatic considerations and amity
between nations necessitate review;
7. Circumstances which show that his continued imprisonment will
be inhuman or will pose a grave danger to the life of the
prisoner or his co-inmates; and,
8. Such other similar or analogous circumstances whenever the
interest of justice will be served thereby.
Prison Record - refers to information concerning an inmate's personal
circumstances, the offense he committed, the sentence imposed, the
criminal case number in the trial and appellate courts, the date he
commenced serving his sentence, the date he was received for
confinement, the place of confinement, the date of expiration of
the sentence, the number of previous convictions, if any, and his
behavior or conduct while in prison.
Probation - is a disposition under which an accused, after conviction
and sentence, is released subject to conditions imposed by the court
and to the supervision of a probation officer.
Progress Report - refers to the report submitted by the
Probation and Parole Officer on the conduct of the
parolee/pardonee while under supervision.
Infraction Report - refers to the report submitted by the
Probation and Parole Officer on violations committed by a
parolee/pardonee of the conditions of his release on parole or
conditional pardon while under supervision.
Summary Report - refers to the final report submitted by the
Probation and Parole Officer on his supervision of a
parolee/pardonee as basis for the latter's final release
and discharge.
Sentence - in law, is the penalty imposed by the court in a criminal
case against a person, known as the accused, who is found guilty of
committing the crime charged.
Youth Offender - is defined as a child, minor or youth who is over
nine years but under eighteen years of age at the time of the
commission of the offense.

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