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New Bilibid Prison

NEW BILIBID PRISON (NBP): The projected increase in
the prison population prompted the government to plan
and develop a new site for the national penitentiary. The
growing urbanization of Manila and constant lobbying by
conservative groups fueled the idea of transferring the Old
Bilibid Prison to a new site, which at the time was
considered remote and on the outskirts of the urban
center. Accordingly, Commonwealth Act No. 67
was enacted, appropriating one million pesos for the
construction of a new national prison in Muntinlupa. On
November 15, 1940, all inmates of the Old Bilibid Prison in
Manila were transferred to the new site. The new
institution had a capacity of 3,000 prisoners and it was
officially named the New Bilibid Prison on January 22,
1941. The prison reservation had an area of 587 hectares,
part of which was arable. The prison compound proper
had an area of 300 x 300 meters or a total of nine
hectares. It was surrounded by three layers of barbed wire.

The institution became the maximum security

compound in the �?0s and continues to be so. The camp
houses not only death convicts and inmates sentenced to
life term, but also those with numerous pending cases,
multiple convictions, and sentences of more than 20 years.

After World War II, there was a surfeit of steel

matting in the inventory and it was used to improve the
security fence. In the late �?0s, fences werefurther
reinforced with concrete slabs. In the 1980s, the height of the concrete wall was
increased and another facility was constructed, 2.5 kilometers from the
main building. This became known as Camp Sampaguita or the Medium
Security Camp.

On January 22, 1941 the electric chair was transferred to New Bilibid
Prison. The death chamber was constructed in the rear area of the camp when
the mode of execution was through electrocution. Today, it is a security zone
where those convicted of drug offenses are held.

The NBP expanded with the construction of new security facilities. These
were the Medium Security Camp, which was used as a military stockade during
martial law and the Minimum Security Camp, whose first site was christened
Bukang Liwayway. This was transferred to another site within the reservation
where the former depot was situated.

The increase in the prison population has affected the segregation

system. Several foreign funded projects dot the prison reservation, among them,

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the Half Way House and the Juvenile Training Center. Both projects are supported by funds from Japan through the representation of the Interdisciplinary
Committee of NAPOLCOM.

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