The Bureau of Corrections is one such agency one finds at
the cross roads of a scandal, is one of the most controversial and complicated agencies in the country. The BuCor knows that the public would suspect
that chain of events is unbelievable. it could not be anything else.
Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director Gaudencio Pangilinan
has gone on indefinite leave beginning Thursday noon following the
disappearance of convict Rolito Go from the National Bilibid Prison (NBP),
Malacañang announced last Thursday.
“In order to emphasize the principle of command
responsibility and to enhance the investigation, Bureau of Corrections Director
Gaudencio Pangilinan has offered to go on leave and the President has
accepted,” Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a news briefing.
Kidnapping Event
Rolito Go was convicted of killing engineering student Eldon
Maguan in 1991. Go, a “living-out prisoner” is one who is sick or is over 70
years old, and those serving a minimum penalty of less than six years. He has
been in prison for 18 years and is suffering from colon cancer.
“He usually stays at the Ina ng Awa Church where he is
accompanied by a private nurse,” Lacierda said.
Go was kidnapped or if he is a missing prisoner? It was
reported that on Wednesday night, the Philippine National Police got custody of
Go after he and his nurse-nephew Clemence Yu surfaced in Alabang, claiming they
were abducted.
President Benigno Aquino ordered the Justice department to
investigate how Go could have escaped or could have been abducted from the NBP.
“President Aquino has ordered an in-depth, multi-agency investigation into the
circumstances surrounding his disappearance and eventual reappearance,”
Lacierda also said.
It was reported that on Wednesday night, the Philippine
National Police got custody of Go after he and his nurse-nephew Clemence Yu
surfaced in Alabang, claiming they were abducted. Go, meanwhile, insisted that
he had been kidnapped by four men
inside the NBP’s minimum security compound, a claim that the National
Police initially believed based on its ongoing investigation into the case.
However, BuCor Director Pangilinan maintained the earlier
position of the NBP that Go, who had been committed at the penitentiary since
1996, escaped along with his personal nurse-nephew Clemence Yu. He said that he
will let the police finish its investigation into the case, as he spoke to the
National Police chief, Director General Nicanor Bartolome.
The kidnapping story ends with Go heading back to
prison. Nothing was believable in
the shifting scenarios.
BuCor Director Gaudencio Pangilinan has been exercises
administrative supervision over the prisons and penal farms and staff
services. One of his functions in
the department is developing policies and programs aimed at effective
safekeeping and rehabilitation of national prisoners towards the societal goal
of peace and order.
The Bureau of Corrections’ vision is to “protect the public and prevent
crimes in partnership with stakeholders by providing persons under custody
opportunities for reformation, decent environment and secure settings.”
Last June 2012, I have read Director Pangilinan’s sharing of
his thoughts about managing the corrections services.
"Managing The Bureau of Corrections Is Not Easy - Director
Gaudencio Pangilinan"
The phrase is not an expression of exasperation; it is
rather a discovery of a fact. It is not a wailing cry of desperation; but
rather a confirmation of something never before accepted as a reality.
And why is it not easy to manage an agency despite all the
rules, powers and authorities in its command arsenal? It is in the overall
picture of its environment. Unlike plants, unlike animals, unlike any other
governmental concern, managing the most dangerous sector of society – the so
called insular prisoners projects so much stress to the point that nothing is
correct in the scale of administering fairly their community. It is neither hot
nor cold; neither here nor there; neither good nor bad; neither proper nor
improper. Either an officer is exceptionally a genius person or abnormally
intelligent to justify the right way in managing the affairs of prison
administration.
The Bureau of Corrections is one such agency one finds at
the cross roads of a scandal.
If there is no news that could grab public attention, one
can find something in prison worth jolting the hell out of stability. For sure
there are numerous instances in the prison community that is worth a moment’s
notice. If the mood is something that would require empathy for the down
trodden, there are alleged cases to be slapped on prison officials. If the
prevailing sentiment is against the offenders, there are incidents that could
be divulged against prison denizens. In both instances, the prison
administrator’s neck is usually on the line. This is where sensationalism
comes, that is where the news item becomes a regular highlighted feature,
something that sells the newsprint, something that is projected on television,
something one follows up on radio. And the Bureau of Corrections, whether it is
in its star to be exposed or not, is always there are as an exciting filling
material.
Any administrator worth his salt would find this stark
reality as soon as he gets into ground work. NO amount of work ethics can drive
the prison community--- officers included, into the tailspin of real committed
work. Resistance is etched in every corner of the prison camp. Tradition is
almost embossed in the granite walls of the community. To reform is like
calling to arms as in war. Yet changes must be done. Several prison
administrations have dedicated itself in the past only to be waylaid by
indifference later. Result: the prison service remained static, recluse and
worst, a benchmark for incompetence. And there lies the challenge. Change must
occur, innovation must start somewhere. Corrections must regain its real
meaning.
The process is not a walk in the park. It is, to borrow
today’s lingo, complicated. Change demands sacrifice. While not all
improvements result in change, all changes result in improvement. And the prison
service is still undecided to fulfill change notwithstanding the enforcement of
leadership. Attitude remains the biggest challenge and it must turn into a
crusading spirit. It must be guided tour for real change, a clear direction to
be reached.
And the first step is having a good grasp of where to go.
That explains the significance of the BuCor roadmap. It has to be adopted,
embraced, and totally appreciated from the heart.
BuCor is a prison where thousands of convicted offenders from all
corners of the archipelago serve sentences. I have been visiting and witnessing what's happening inside the BuCor. Even, the Maximum Security Compound is everything that I didn’t
expect. This isn’t simply a place where convicted offenders are stored away
until they have served their sentences.
The Bureau of Corrections isn’t the
bureau of punishment. Its mandate is to rehabilitate the offenders. Knowing the
harsh conditions that society offers many of its citizens, the New Bilibid
Prison might actually be the first real chance many of its inmates ever get to
become genuine citizens and live meaningful, productive lives.
I believe that a BuCor Director Pangilinan is with the local and
national laws connected with inmate rights and detention standards, due process
and sentencing. He is always doing the basics of prison administration
including routines and techniques regarding work, education and rehabilitation
of inmates. The BuCor Director has always developing and implementing
training procedures, delegate tasks, assess inmate needs, assign placement and
transfers of inmates within the institution, examine security measures and
suggest necessary changes, review inmate communications and react accordingly
and coordinate inmate activities.
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