Introduction
According to wikipedia.com, corrections pertain to the handling of persons by society after their conviction of an illegal crime. The criminal justice system that punishes the illegal doers contains and involves the deprivation of life, liberty or property after due process of law. On the other hand, sentence is enforced to lawbreakers ranging from probation up to imprisonment accompanied by intermediate sanctions thus including sentences to halfway house or community corrections program, home imprisonment and electronic surveillance. To worsen, financial penalties may associate fines, forfeiture and restitution; in other western countries, judicially-ordered corporal punishment may also include.
The Correctional Theory from wikipedia.com states that the essential use of sanctions which can be either positive and rewarding or negative and as a punishment is the foundation of every criminal theory. Additional to it are goals of social control and prevention of unusual manners. This theory decides the nature of the facilities’ plan and safety operations.
Today, the two essential theories being used were the traditional Remote Supervision Model (RSM) that consists of a/n officer/officers monitoring the prisoner population from a distant place like a tower or secure desk area; and the contemporary Direct Supervision Models (DSM) that positions the Corrections Officer within the prisoner population establishing a more annunciated existence.
The Correctional System
During the late 1980s, establishments made for the prisoners, convicts, detainees, and those who are still waiting for the verdict of their case stays in national prisons and penal farms plus various small local jails and lockups. The national prisoners in the country abode serious offenders while on the other hand, those who are sentenced for a short term were housed in the local facilities.
The Prison System before
In the national level of the prison system in the country, the Bureau of Prisons of the Department of Justice take charge on it. The bureau is accountable of the prisons’ safety and their rehabilitation with the use of general and moral education and teaching; technical training in industry and agriculture was also initiated. With this, they keep an eye on every procedure and action of the prisoners regarding the agro-industries and the manufacture of food commodities. But, in the year of 1991, the recently constructed Philippine National Police acquire the supervision of local jails.
The Philippine government during that time sustained six correctional facilities and penal farms. One of these correctional facilities was National Penitentiary – located in Muntinlupa, Rizal Province near Manila. It is said to be the nation’s largest prison. Another is the Manila City Jail which was located in Manila. The penal colony provides the most essential facility for those prisoners who are sentenced to life incarceration or long-term imprisonment. It was alienated into two camps to detach and part those who serving utmost or highest and for those who are serving least and slightest punishment.
On the other hand, the Correctional Institution for Women can be found in Metropolitan Manila. A combination prison and penal farms can be located in Zamboanga City, Palawan, Mindoro Occidental, and in numerous Mindanao provinces. Unfortunately, the prison situations in the country of Philippines were poor in general and the prison life was cruel and unsympathetic.
About Parole and Probation
There are a number of prisoners who are entitled to parole and probation. With this, the prisoners who were not yet receiving their sentence and those who are not given a charge of subversion, treason, or insurgency or even those who had not been on probation before have the right and are entitled to apply for probation. The probationers are obliged to see and meet up monthly with their parole officers. This is to shun any supplementary offense and to meet the terms of the court-imposed conditions.
Subsequent to their serving in an ascertained least sentence, certain prisoners could apply for their discharge to the parole board. Another information is that the board could and may propose pardon to the president for the prisoners. This includes prisoners who are believed to have changed and those who did not present any nuisance or is not a threat of peace to the society. One example is what happened to Former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, who was given presidential pardon by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Politicization of the military
During the past years, the crime was said to be serious, and if ever reduced or lessened, the threat to the common peace and the safety and security of the society was provoked by corruption in the police and court systems. The politicization of the military is seen and identified as a long-term problem, and the menace of a military coup still remain essential and significant.
The hazard of a CPP-led conquest seemed to be withdrawing as NPA guerrilla force ebbed. The socioeconomic ancestry of the ground-breaking faction lingered and assured to make the rebellion a dilemma and predicament for some time to approach, regardless of its unhurried decline. The Philippine government also familiarized the ongoing menace pretense by well-armed Filipino Muslim mutineers even though few feared a near-term resurgent Moro rebellion and revolution. Even though the situation is this, the external security threats were not considered to be superficial.
Opinion regarding the Philippines’ Correctional System
I think for a country like the Philippines, it will be hard to maintain a good correctional place because aside from its economic crisis, there are also other factors that bothers the country. It will be harder for them to allocate funds for these areas because there are other greater areas and fields that need the budget more than they do.
The correctional system of the Philippines is quite old compared to other country’s correctional system. Aside from this, I think the facilities are quite traditional and out-of-date; other countries have modern amenities for their prisoners thus, providing the prisoners pleasant surroundings.
Aside from that, they lack projects and activities for their prisoners. It might help the prisoners to develop their creativity and cooperative skills. It may also promote camaraderie and friendship among the inmates. One correctional place in the part of Visayas became famous because of the dancing inmates. Every morning, there is a dance exercise that will be conducted by everyone. This is one activity that promotes not just the physical aspect of the inmates but also their social and emotional aspects because exercise lessens stress that causes fatigue.
Above all, the correctional systems and amenities in the country are tolerable when compared to the current problems of the country. Even though it is not that given importance, still there is a part allocated to that area from the national budget.
References
- Philippines.The Correctional System.
- Wikipedia.com.Definition of Correctional System. Web.
- Philippines Table of Contents.Philippines.The Correctional System.