Instead of a "mega-prison" like the New Bilibid Prison (NBP), the Department of Justice (DOJ) is looking at building regional prisons in the next three or four years as part of the overall thrust of the government to reform and "humanize" the country's penal system. 

DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said they are now discussing the design of the regional prisons with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). 

"We have a big problem in Bilibid, that' why we have to reform our prison system and not only on the transfer of maximum security, but also the regionalization of prisons is now on the table," Remulla said in a press briefing. 

"In the next three or four years, we may be able to build regional prisons," he added. 

Remulla said they would also coordinate with local government units where the facilities will be built, hinting that they might tap local funds for the project instead of the national government. 

Remulla said the DOJ and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) would build a prison facility in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro, to house maximum security inmates from the NBP. 

This is part of the effort to decongest the national penitentiary, he added. 

Remulla previously said the NBP and the six other penal facilities supervised by BuCor have a 330 percent congestion rate. 

He said regionalization would also "humanize" the prison system since it would now be easy for the inmates' families to visit instead of traveling to Muntinlupa City, where Bilibid is located. 

"There is a need to humanize the prison system, to treat inmates as a person and not just a number out of 39, 000," he added, referring to the inmates' population in the national penitentiary. 

Remulla also announced that 2, 000 carpetas or the records of inmates have been submitted to the Office of the Executive Secretary since the Marcos administration assumed power in July. 

Meanwhile, 318 names have also been submitted for executive clemency.