No jail facility will be constructed at Masungi

BUREAU of Corrections Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. assured on Tuesday, April 16, that no jail facility will be constructed at the legally owned 270-hectare lot of the BuCor in Masungi Georeserve in Tanay, Rizal.

Catapang also committed not to use the Masungi property for any purpose that will adversely affect the ecology and sustainability of the area.

However, the BuCor chief said a detachment for forest rangers will have to be built in the area to secure the lot under their jurisdiction.

“We have obligations and responsibilities in the conservation of the area as part of national heritage and we are one with the Filipino people in preserving our natural resources,” Catapang said.

He said there are 20 to 30 hectares out of the 270 hectares of “vacant spaces” at the bottom part of the Masungi that can be used for this purpose without disturbing the landscape of the area.

“The bureau with proper coordination with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will also conduct a delineation survey sometime next month but do not misconstrue this to anything because we only want to determine the metes and bounds of BuCor Property that we need to secure,” Catapang explained.

The 270-hectare property in Masungi was awarded to the BuCor when Proclamation 1158 was signed in 2006 by then-president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Catapang said this should be the location of the New Bilibid Prison including the plan to relocate the BuCor national headquarters as part of the proclamation, but Catapang postponed the idea pending further study of the project.