Corrections bureau cleans up

As the administration continues to sweep dust out from under the rug, another government agency has decided to step forward for a second chance. The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) is the latest to join the massive governance campaign that has turned things around for several government agencies and cities in the Philippines.

Putting together a select group of assistant directors, division heads, correctional facility superindendents, and planning experts from the bureau, Lt. Gen. Gaudencio S. Pangilinan expressed the need to revisit organizational issues like the lack of prison dormitories, inefficient record-keeping, and an imbalanced ratio of inmates to personnel.

After sitting down to discuss these internal and external realities in a working session earlier this week, the bureau agreed that its objective should be to develop ‘productive and socially acceptable released inmates’ in order to achieve its 2016 goal of becoming a ‘dependable, effective, and modern correctional institution.’ To get this done, the bureau is planning to launch a comprehensive reform program for inmates in conjunction with a ladderized training program for personnel among other reformation initiatives.

BuCor is currently polishing its Strategy Map and Scorecard, and is due for a validation exercise in January 2012.