MANILA – Prison officials on Wednesday said an open park at the heart of Metro Manila similar to Central Park in New York, is among the components of the plan by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to develop the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City by 2028.
In a statement, BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. said that Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla’s vision for the property is to turn the 100-hectare lot of the more than 350 hectares of NBP into an open park.
The remaining area will be for mixed used including a sprawling government center once the persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) in the NBP are relocated to other facilities throughout the country.
A glimpse of NBP’s future as a park was bared after BuCor opened its door for the use of its sunken garden as a training ground for Football Club Bilibid (FCB), a team composed of underprivileged children and children of PDLs.
The program is an outreach program of King of the Blues (KOB), which is made up of classmates from the Ateneo de Manila.
Catapang said the gesture of BuCor to allow the use of its Sunken Garden for the training of FCB will mean much for the youth as they will have open space to learn and enjoy sports, and develop their talents and character. (PNA)
