Political prisoners’ support group KAPATID today called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commission on Audit (COA) to take over the probe into missing trust funds at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) and immediately reimburse affected prisoners, after the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) reported conflicting figures of ₱5.1 million and ₱6.4 million in unaccounted funds.

KAPATID rejected the BuCor’s decision to file cases solely against two sacked superintendents and five other personnel, calling the move a diversion to deflect command responsibility while leaving the larger issue of institutional accountability unresolved.

“Charging seven individuals does not resolve the central questions: Where is the money? When and how will affected persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) get their money back? And who at every level of responsibility should be held accountable?” said Fides Lim, KAPATID spokesperson. “BuCor must immediately return the money of every affected PDL. These are not government funds but the PDLs’ own money and family support for food, medicines and hygiene that BuCor required them to deposit under its mandatory cashless system.”

KAPATID also demanded the immediate unblocking of family remittances and a publicly disclosed timetable for reimbursement. “Victims must not be made to wait for lengthy administrative or judicial proceedings to recover money entrusted to government custody,” Lim said. “Mahihirap na nga ang karamihan sa mga PDL at kanilang pamilya, sila pa ang pinagbabayad sa kasalanan at kapabayaan ng mga nasa itaas.” Penalizing inmates through proposed phone rate hikes and freezing family remittances to cover up administrative failure is unconscionable.

“KAPATID rejects any attempt to reduce this scandal to lower level misconduct. The mandatory cashless system was institutionalized through a 15-year Memorandum of Agreement signed by BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. on December 12, 2023 despite a collective petition by 3,000 CIW inmates opposing the system. When we raised this unprecedented mass petition through the Makabayan bloc during the 2024 congressional budget deliberation, the DOJ told us they would scrap the system. Yet, the so-called cashless system continued at the CIW,” Lim noted.

“Command responsibility requires scrutiny of those who approved and supervised this high-risk policy and the resulting losses. The Bureau of Corrections cannot investigate a failure of its own system and then declare the problem solved by charging those at the bottom,” Lim said.

KAPATID noted that conflicting internal figures further underscore the need for an external probe. The BuCor’s Directorate for Intelligence and Investigation reported ₱5.15 million unaccounted for while its Internal Audit Service Unit placed the deficit at ₱6.4 million—excluding over ₱1.2 million in unrecorded receivables. “BuCor cannot even establish how much PDL money is missing, so how can it be the sole agency investigating what happened to those missing funds?” Lim said.

KAPATID urged the DOJ to exercise its supervisory authority to ensure an independent inquiry, while the Commission on Audit conducts a full audit to determine the exact amount missing, trace all transactions, identify every affected PDL, and establish accountability. The Commission on Human Rights should likewise investigate the impact of the missing funds on PDL rights and welfare and recommend the immediate restitution of funds to all affected PDLs.

Reference:
KAPATID Media Desk
kapatid.media@gmail.com

KAPATID, which means brother/sister in Filipino, is a support organization of families and friends of political prisoners in the Philippines that works for their release and the protection of their rights and welfare.

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