Prisoners ‘lucky’ if they get P45 worth of food per day — DOJ

August 28, 2024 | 12:48pm

MANILA, Philippines — Persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) are only getting an estimated P45 worth of food per day, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Wednesday.

During the Department of Justice (DOJ) budget hearing in the Senate, Sen. Nancy Binay asked Remulla how much the agency is spending to feed the prisoners. Remulla responded that the agency isspending P70 a day per prisoner.    

Binay quipped that this was above the food poverty threshold of the National Economic and Development Authority, which said that people who spent above P64 a day for three meals are not “food poor”. 

However, Remulla said that this was because there was no kickback to that figure. 

“Ang estimate ng aking kasama sa loob ng DOJ, sa P70, maswerte na kung P45 ang napupupnta talaga ang napupunta sa bawat mesa ng bawat nakulong nawalan ng laya,” Remulla said, 

(The estimate of my colleagues in the DOJ is that in the P70, it is lucky if P45 goes to the table of each person who is imprisoned, who lost their liberty.) 

Bureau of Corrections General Director Gregorio Catapang Jr. said that the bidders go as low as possible. The latest winning bidder spends P59 a day for food. 

Asked for the food included in the P59 a day, Catapang said that it includes eggs and rice. 

“Ang mga PDL, ‘pag binigyan ng pagkain, linuluto pa nila ulit para magkaroon ng lasa o sustanya pagkain nila,” Catapang said. (The PDL, when you give them food, they have to cook it again so that it gains flavor and nutrition.) 

The total budget for PDLs’ food this year is P1.5 billion, Catapang said.  

The DOJ Secretary called it a culture that has been established even before he took on the role. The suppliers believe that a large budget equals large earnings. 

Remulla also claimed that the problem was worse in the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), which is an attached agency of the Department of Interior and Local Government. However, he said that the corruption in the BJMP likely takes an even larger chunk of the P70 a day. 

According to Remulla, the problem is in the bidding process, which creates a large space for corruption. 

“Ang problema namin, kung nagpa bid ka, sari-sari pong paraan yan na mga supplier system, na nagkakaroon talaga ng corruption,”  the DOJ chief said. 

(Our problem is, when you bid, there are different ways in the supplier system, and there really is corruption.) 

Sen. Grace Poe, who chairs the Committee on Finance, said that it is the Senate’s job to oversee budget and legislation. The solution to the problem would not be adding to the budget, but seeing how the issue could be stopped.