200 inmates transferred to Zambo penal farm

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 1, 2010) – The Bureau of Corrections transferred some 200 inmates to a penal colony in Zamboanga City in Mindanao in an effort to decongest the growing population of the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City in Luzon Island.

The prisoners, who were tightly guarded, had arrived by boat from Manila over the weekend. They were the latest batches of inmates transferred to Zamboanga’s San Ramon Penal Colony over the years.

The New Bilibid Prison, the country’s largest prison facility, has more than 19,900 inmates and one-third of the prisoners are in maximum security camps. The local prison facility is capable of housing more than 5,000 prisoners. At present, the colony has more than 1,000 prisoners.

Many of the prisoners at the San Ramon Penal Colony, one of seven facilities under the Bureau of Corrections, pass the time by engaging in farming and in the production of handicrafts. (Mindanao Examiner)