P59 meal allocation per NBP inmate: Egg, rice, a slice of meat 3x a day

JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday told senators that corruption remains a hiccup in the food allocation program of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), saying that only a portion of the budget allocated for each inmate is spent for their food.

During the Senate deliberations on the proposed 2025 budget of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Remulla said that of the P70 per day per inmate budget for persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), only around P45 worth of food is served to them while the remaining amount is lost to corruption.

“We’re trying to figure out the best way to feed all these prisoners. Ang problema nga ay marami hong gustong kumita at diyan tayo nalilintikan (The problem is that many individuals want to get kickbacks, and this is where things go wrong),” Remulla said, adding: “Ang problema namin, kapag nag-pa bid ka, sari-sari pong paraan ‘yan ng mga supplier (kaya) nagkakaroon ng korapsiyon (The problem here is that when we bid out [the catering], suppliers employ various tactics which involve corruption).

Bureau of Corrections chief Gregorio Catapang said meal suppliers try to win the bidding by offering the lowest possible amount of food per PDL a day, noting that the current supplier in the NBP offered a bid of P59 a day per PDL.

Catapang said the meal consists of an egg, a cup of rice, and a very small amount of meat which is served three times a day.

Remulla said BuCor efforts to stop corruption has been unsuccessful, admitting that the “culture of corruption” has been prevalent in the NBP since time immemorial.

The DOJ chief recalled that when he was appointed as justice secretary, an individual who wanted to corner the contract to cater to prisoners approached him. He did not elaborate.

“Maraming tao ang tingin sa BuCor ay kung ano ang kikitain namin sa catering. Yun po ang pinaka mabigat na problema po natin. Kasi palabigasan po iyan ng maraming taong nais kumita (Many people view BuCor as a place where caterers will earn a lot. That’s our main problem because they think it is a gold mine where lots of people will earn a lot),” he said.

Catapang said suppliers are enticed to join the bidding, noting that the contract gets huge