PARAÑAQUE City 2nd District Representative Joy Myra Tambunting filed a measure institutionalizing a system of free formal education from elementary to tertiary level for prisoners in all penal institutions.

In pushing for House Bill 10485 or the proposed Prison Education Act, Tambunting said there is a need to improve the access of prisoners to formal education, consistent with the concept of restorative justice which emphasizes the need to treat prisoners with respect and allow them to reintegrate into the larger community.

The measure seeks to establish complete educational programs in all penal institutions in the Philippines. Currently, only the National Bilibid Prison offers a complete educational program for prisoners.

“The UN Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners states that all prisoners shall have the right to education. Aside from being a fundamental human right, education for prisoner positively contributes to their social reintegration after release,” Tambunting said in her explanatory note.

The lawmaker said that studies suggest that offenders who had access to education and vocational programs in penal institutions are more likely to find jobs after their release than those who did not.

The measure mandates the Bureau of Correction, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the provincial governments, in coordination with the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education, to establish and implement a system of free formal education from elementary to college which will be taught on site in all penal institutions throughout the country.

In the implementation of the school-in-prison program, the DepEd and the Commission on Higher Education shall follow the same curricula as prescribed in their regular academic programs.

Under the bill, all prisoners as well as those awaiting trial, undergoing trial or convicted with short sentences shall be given access to education.