BUCOR offers various programs and facilities to cater to inmates. The programs and facilities provided are listed below: i. Work and livelihood, where different prisons and penal farms provide institutional work programs for inmates. For example, inmates in Davao are working in the banana plantation owned by Tagum Development Company Inc. which has a joint venture agreement with the Viewport. Similarly, the vast tracks of land in the Iwahig Penal Colony, Palawan are developed and filled by inmates to produce various agricultural products, thus generating incomes for the BUCOR and its activities. On the other hand, the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro provides agriculture and aquaculture programs for inmates. ii. Sports and recreation, where inmates are encouraged to enjoy indoor and outdoor sports. The most recent prisons are equipped with a mini body building gym for inmates. Other facilities provided are the juvenile training centre and therapeutic community centre to rehabilitate inmates with drug cases. Numerous video care centres complemented with musical instruments are available for inmates who wanted to play music or to practice for shows. iii. Medical care of inmates is provided principally through a 500 beds capacity hospital at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa and six mini hospitals or clinics in six other prisons and penal farms. All prisons have a full and competent medical practitioners in-charge of clinics, pharmacists, infirmaries, and medical centres. These medical centres can conduct minor surgical operations, laboratory examinations, radiology, psychiatric rehabilitation, and dental treatments. iv. Freedom of religion is guaranteed for all inmates. They are free to conduct rituals of their faith under the supervision of prison authorities. A chaplain or religious advisor is assigned in every prison and penal farm.28 v. Academic and job skills is seen as a part of rehabilitation process. Records show that most prisoners are poorly educated and many of them are elementary school’s dropouts or have not even completed their primary school. Prison’s education is designed to prepare inmates with basic skills such as reading, writing and mathematics. In most facilities, vocational programmes29 are incorporated into job assignments and served as on the job training. The goal is to provide inmates with skills to improve their eligibility for jobs upon release. 28 In terms of catholic faith, the chaplain is an officer of the institution who oversees the operations of chapel within the prison and acting as a counselor or advisor for inmates. 29 Most vocational trainings are geared toward an additional blue-collar employment in areas such as electronics, auto mechanics and handicrafts. While at the reception and diagnostic centre, a basic literacy in computer is available as a support course for inmates who have finished their high school. Besides, the National Penitentiary offers a college degree tertiary correspondence course. In addition, to the regular secondary and compulsory basic literacy classes, inmates are encouraged by the BUCOR authority to enroll in courses while serving their sentence and to advance their academic skills. 13

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