BuCor urges medical allowance hike

THE Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) on Thursday said it is seeking to double the daily medical allowance for persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) to P30 per inmate from the current P15, to improve healthcare services in correctional facilities.

BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang, Jr. made the appeal to Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, during the deliberation of the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) proposed 2026 budget earlier this week.

Mr. Catapang said boosting medical provisions for inmates is urgent, noting that the current allocation is inadequate to meet the healthcare needs of the prison population.

BuCor is also proposing a medical parole bill that would establish a system for granting parole to elderly PDLs aged 70 and above and those who are medically incapacitated.

“Elderly PDLs with chronic illnesses limit their ability to care for themselves and pose minimal risks to public safety,” Mr. Catapang said.

The measure, he added, would aid the government’s ongoing prison decongestion efforts while upholding the basic human rights of vulnerable detainees.

If approved, the proposal is expected to ease the strain on the country’s overcrowded prisons and penal farms, which continue to grapple with congestion and limited healthcare access. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking