Abstract
Prison conditions in the Philippines are characterised as overcrowded, under-staffed, and under-resourced resulting in the formation of multi-occupancy cells where a cell designed for ten people accommodates 100 inmates. To manage these cells, inmates are informally deputised to help with custodial, rehabilitative, and administrative tasks. Consequently, inmates have created cell leadership structures called the mayores system to augment the guards, have constructed make-shift accommodation called kubols to maximise cell space, and provide food through a rancho system to help those prisoners in need. Using qualitative data gathered over 20 years, this chapter argues that traditional Filipino culture imported inside cells reinforce a shared governance model that differentiates how Filipino inmates experience the cell life. This chapter also examines the positive ramifications of this setup for Philippine corrections.
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Notes
- 1.
In the Philippines, the correctional system is three-tiered. The detention centers are managed by the Philippine National Police (PNP); the jails are managed by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and the Provincial governments; and the prisons and penal farms are managed by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor). Detention centers and jails officially house inmates undergoing trial, however, due to prolonged pretrial proceedings, majority of inmates end up serving their sentences in these facilities. Thus in the Philippines, detention centers, jails and prisons are interchangeable and are collectively called “kulungan”. In this chapter, we use the term ‘prison’ to also mean jails and detention centers.
- 2.
In the Philippines, due to lack of visitation areas, most prisons allow visitors to enter the cells.
- 3.
Inmate leaders (nanunungkulan) and trusties are two different classes of inmates who participate in shared governance. Inmate leaders have political roles; trusties have administrative/clerical roles. They also differ in level of prestige in the inmate community. However, trusties can become inmate leaders if they gain the trust of the inmates in the cells.
- 4.
Preso is Spanish for prisoner.
- 5.
An officer in charge of gate security and of frisking visitors upon entry.
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Narag, R.E., Jones, C. (2020). The Kubol Effect: Shared Governance and Cell Dynamics in an Overcrowded Prison System in the Philippines. In: Turner, J., Knight, V. (eds) The Prison Cell. Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39911-5_4
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