Baseline Study on the Philippine Penal Conditions: Nurturing a Human Rights Based Approach to Penal Management ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ opportunity to renounce their memberships through removal (pagbubura) of their gang marks. vi. Making it work: Inmate Classification in Prisons The BuCor prisons currently have a fully operational Reception and Diagnostic Center (RDC) which currently classifies inmates. However. the classification outputs generated in the BuCor RDC are seldom implemented when inmates are transferred to their respective housing units due to the structural, organizational, and cultural problems earlier identified. Additionally, the classification criterion is outdated and the organizational structure is inefficient. As such, a re-orientation and re-channeling of the classification scheme in the BuCor must be instituted. First, the classification criteria of the BuCor must be revised. The BuCor currently utilize "length of sentence" as the sole basis for classifying inmates. Inmates with a sentence length of more than 20 years are generally sent to the Maximum Security Compound and those sentenced 20 years and less are generally sent to Medium Security Compound. Inmates w ho are nearing the expiration of their sentences can be transferred to Minimum Security Compound. Utilization of a single criterion in classification of inmates lacks empirical validity. For example, many inmates w ith long sentences turn out to be low risks, while inmates with short sentences turn out to be high risks. The RNR principles, which incorporate factors that led inmates to criminal behavior, must be introduced in lieu of the sentencebased classification. All BuCor Prisons must therefore revise this antiquated criterion and develop an agency-specific Inmate Classification Instrument (ICI). Additionally, the BuCor currently employs a central RDC for all incoming inmates. Most inmates all over the country are sent to the RDC for classification which is very costly for the BJMP Jails and the Provincial Jails as they carry the burden of transporting the inmates. The inmates are then transferred from the RDC to the NBP which is the nearest prison facility. Placing majority of the inmates in the NBP practically limits inmates from the provinces of access to their visitors. This also contributes to NBP overcrowding. Inmates are therefore transferred from the NBP to the different regional prisons as a mechanism to decongest the NBP population and as disciplinary actions against erring NBP inmates. This process in turn modifies the rehabilitation programming in the satellite prison camps as most of the inmates transferred are "NBP rejects." It is suggested that for the seven prisons and penal farms of the BuCor, a Reception and Diagnostic Center must be individually put in place. A separate RDC unit for each of the seven BuCor Prison facilities will ease up the burden of transporting all inmates to the central RDC located in Metro Manila. 27 When the individual RDCs are established, the RDC staff, in consultation w ith the inmate, must develop an Individualized Rehabilitation Plan. The Individualized Rehabilitation Plan must guide inmates on what rehabilitation modules to undertake while serving their sentences. The Inmate Rehabilitation Plan must also specify the length of housing placement for each inmate as they progress through their sentences. In line with the provisions of the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) Law, the RDC staff in each BuCor Prison must also discuss to inmates the different ways in which he or she can be credited with GCTA. A key activity in the RDC is the simulation of how good behavior and participation in rehabilitation programs will translate to early release. This will impress to inmates that their release will all depend on their own performance. This will have to be done in coordination with the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court must reiterate its Circular No. 63-97 dated October 6, 1997 instructing the local courts to order the transfer of convicted inmates to their nearest regional prison facilities. 25