In a decisive and game-changing move guaranteed to boost and speed-up the administration of justice in the Corrections cluster, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” C. Remulla, through the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), announced the complete digitization of more than 50,000 carpetas or prison records of every Person Deprived of Liberty (PDL).
These carpetas are composed of basic PDL information such as personal data, basic crime information, date of arrest and detention, among other related data thereto which the BuCor utilizes to identify inmates, address their health requirements, determine their eligibility for release and compute their time allowance credits.
Traditionally, carpetas were once all on paper and stored in the BuCor’s main office in Muntinlupa City.
Considering that BuCor has six (6) other Correctional facilities scattered across the country, the process of manually searching for each paper carpeta, photocopying and sending them by courier to and from these facilities took a considerable amount of time resulting to the delayed processing of prison records.
Fortunately, the country no longer has to go through that snail-paced processing of prison records under this revolutionary move of the DOJ and BuCor.
“The path we are paving towards the seamless administration of justice is becoming clearer and the goal at the end of the road is beginning to take shape. We improve our systems to provide real-time justice for all, regardless which side of the justice system you are on,” Secretary Remulla underscored.
Meanwhile, Secretary Remulla also extended his warmest appreciation to the European Union (EU) for its Governance in Justice Programme II (GOJUST II) which supported the DOJ and BuCor since day one in digitizing its entire carpeta database into the One BuCor Portal.
Specifically, EU-GOJUST II has played a vital role in shaping the country’s Corrections cluster by contracting the encoding services necessary for the total digitization of carpetas and providing BuCor personnel with necessary ICT equipment such as laptops, high-speed scanners, webcams and biometric equipment.
“We have exerted all these efforts to ensure two things: first, to enable these PDL to relish their freedom and begin living reformed, productive lives the moment they finish serving their sentences; and two, to improve the quality of life of those who still have time to serve by decongesting the BuCor’s Correctional faciltiies which have been running at 239% overcapacity as of May 2024,” said EU Ambassador to the Philippines Massimo Santoso.
Adding to this milestone in the Corrections cluster, the Secretary also assured that efforts are underway to connect the BuCor’s digital database with other Correction agencies such as the Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP), Parole and Probation Authority (PPA), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) using the National Justice Information System (NJIS) to ensure the smooth and seamless exchange of information among agencies in aid of those undergoing reformation.
