00:00The Europe Corrections was held at the 2nd ASEAN Regional Correctional Conference.
00:04The government's efforts to fix the problems in the country,
00:09including the potential of the Iwahig Prison and Dental Farm in the future,
00:14and its role in the use of food security in the country.
00:18Luisa Erispe was at the center of the news.
00:22It's not just a problem in prison that is expected to be solved
00:26in the ongoing gathering of ASEAN countries to discuss the prison system in different countries.
00:32According to the Bureau of Corrections,
00:34it is also expected that millions of investments will enter the Philippines.
00:38The Bureau of Corrections assigned to the countries in the region
00:42the plan to make PESA Zone or Economic Zone the targets in the country,
00:46particularly the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm.
00:49After this conference, I was told by the PESA Director General
00:55that investors will be coming in from Thailand, Singapore, and other countries
01:03because they want to also invest in the Philippines.
01:07The plan of the Bureau of Corrections to make the Iwahig Prison a new prison
01:11in 28,300 hectares of land.
01:14Most of it will be used to grow agricultural products, fisheries, and others.
01:20So with the help of incoming investments, Iwahig will become a food security hub.
01:25Number one, food security.
01:29That is the problem of the country.
01:33Because of climate change, we need to make sure that we produce the food that we need.
01:41This will be a hub for aqua and agricultural products.
01:46Persons deprived of liberty will be transferred from the new believed prison to Iwahig
01:51and other regional facilities.
01:53They will also help in farming, raising animals, and aquaculture.
01:58According to the Bureau of Corrections, PDLs are beneficial here
02:01because they provide sufficient food and work that they can use when they are free.
02:05We want the PDLs to be relevant.
02:09We want the PDLs to be, as early as now, to be able to contribute something to the society.
02:17And when the time comes, now that there is GCTA, a lot of freedom,
02:21they are prepared to have a reintegration program.
02:25They really need a better place to live.
02:29Because they are suffering there.
02:31And then, of course, this will not stop me from looking around.
02:37We will also put a farm in Region 1.
02:41But we really have to get out of Metro Manila
02:46because really our position there is untenable.
02:49For the new believed prison, since the PDLs will be gone,
02:54the Bureau of Corrections' plan is to sell this land.
02:57Just like what they did in Davao Penal Colony now,
03:00they are now earning the land they used to sleep on, 20 million pesos per month.
03:05Imagine, in all the regions, we earn at least 20 million a month.
03:11We have about 17 regions.
03:16So, that's already big.
03:20Almost 300 million a month, we can generate income.
03:25Bucor is positive that this plan will be implemented until 2028,
03:30or until the term of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
03:33Not only food security, they are also looking for a way
03:37to strengthen tourism in the country.
03:40Luisa Erispe for Pambansang TV in Bagong, Philippines.
Comments