GMA declared that her last three years in office will be the “legacy phase” of her administration, which shall focus on human and physical infrastructure. Businessmen and economists would interpret this as the strengthening of macroeconomic foundation for a sustained economic development even beyond her term.
A former Bureau of Corrections director, Ricardo Macala whose own legacy can still be viewed at the National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa and every penal colony throughout the country, a legacy which says “Bilangguan man ay Paraiso sa Patakarang Maka-Diyos at Maka-Tao”, was thinking beyond economics. Reading the President’s declaration, hw was thinking of his own dream. For him, human and physical infrastructure rings a more personal bell.
In 2002, he attempted to lay the foundation of that dream by embarking on a very ambitious project which would transform the prison community from a mere penal institution to a food production complex. The immediate objective was to attain self-sufficiency for the food requirement of prisoners, but the vision was to extend the benefit to our country’s struggling agricultural sector. The project was the GMA Super Rice in Iwahig Penal Colony through a joint venture with the Philippine Rice Institute (PHILRICE), supported by the Department of Agriculture and UP Los Banos Agriculture Engineering Department.
Physical infrastructure for Karding Macala was the development of vast, idle and fertile land of different penal colonies in Iwahig, Sablayan, Abuyog, Davao and Zamboanga. His initial experiment with the GMA Super Rice in Iwahig has proven that the government must undertake the production of certified seeds so that farmers all over the country can reap the benefits of increased output without going through complex, highly technical, and risky process of certified seeds production. This certified seeds, if could not be subsidized, must be distributed and sold to farmers at cost. The land hectarage of the penal colonies if fully developed and supported with irrigation and other infrastructure, will be sufficient to supply the whole country’s hybrid seed requirement.
Human infrastructure for Macala has a very personal meaning. He thinks of national prisoners who had lost not only their freedom, but in their idleness, has also lost their dignity for productive work. He had initiated an educational program where he transformed the traditional token skills training for prisoners into a full blown college diploma program inside the prison walls. But for him, it was not enough. He wanted the inmates to redeem their dignity and worth as human beings while serving time, by doing productive work not just for their own sustenance but for the benefit of the society he had wronged. What could be a better concrete and symbolic gesture of penance than being able to produce the seeds that would feel the community they hope to eventually rejoin?
Yes, it was a dream. A dream not shared by all because not all believed that prisoners never cease to be human beings. Ka Karding believes that human infrastructure development must not exclude the prison community because whatever economic gains the free world could achieve, our treatment of our prisoners will define the kind of people and society that we have. Macala was given a rating of “outstanding” for innovation by the Career Executive Service Performance Evaluation System (CESPES), but his two years stint in office as BUCOR Director was not enough to pursue a radical vision if not shared by succeeding leaderships.
Economically speaking, the project to make the penal colonies as a Seed production Complex will not only result in efficient production with PHILRICE, acting as technical conduit, but will radically reduce the cost of production. The land is free and available, while the labor is abundant twenty four hours a day. There will be birth pains as proven by the Macala Experiment in Iwahig, and there will be oppositions and saboteurs both within and outside the bureau, since old systems however unproductive, will always have their traditional beneficiaries. It ultimately comes down to political will and a call for personal sacrifice to abandon shortsighted benefits for long term but lasting goals.
The writer of this article is a personal witness to Macala’s sincere effort to transform the Bureau of Corrections from a government dependent agency to a self-sustaining institution. Almost 100% of its appropriation goes to employee salary and foodstuff for prisoners. Nothing is left for infrastructure and other human development programs. Ironically, the bureau has vast and untapped natural resources in its colonies. The absence of a concrete utilization and development program for these resources had resulted in years of institutional corruption. The Bureau of Corrections is a classic example of what GMA called a long overdue need for physical and human infrastructure reform. Without active support and a defined policy from above, the kinds of Macala would be a lonely voice in the wilderness. But this is not the time for pessimism. If we really intend to move forward, we must forget the failings of the fast, continue to speak up and believe.
Andrew B. Blanca
Former Chief Accountant / Superintendent – BUCOR
College Faculty - FAITH
A former Bureau of Corrections director, Ricardo Macala whose own legacy can still be viewed at the National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa and every penal colony throughout the country, a legacy which says “Bilangguan man ay Paraiso sa Patakarang Maka-Diyos at Maka-Tao”, was thinking beyond economics. Reading the President’s declaration, hw was thinking of his own dream. For him, human and physical infrastructure rings a more personal bell.
In 2002, he attempted to lay the foundation of that dream by embarking on a very ambitious project which would transform the prison community from a mere penal institution to a food production complex. The immediate objective was to attain self-sufficiency for the food requirement of prisoners, but the vision was to extend the benefit to our country’s struggling agricultural sector. The project was the GMA Super Rice in Iwahig Penal Colony through a joint venture with the Philippine Rice Institute (PHILRICE), supported by the Department of Agriculture and UP Los Banos Agriculture Engineering Department.
Physical infrastructure for Karding Macala was the development of vast, idle and fertile land of different penal colonies in Iwahig, Sablayan, Abuyog, Davao and Zamboanga. His initial experiment with the GMA Super Rice in Iwahig has proven that the government must undertake the production of certified seeds so that farmers all over the country can reap the benefits of increased output without going through complex, highly technical, and risky process of certified seeds production. This certified seeds, if could not be subsidized, must be distributed and sold to farmers at cost. The land hectarage of the penal colonies if fully developed and supported with irrigation and other infrastructure, will be sufficient to supply the whole country’s hybrid seed requirement.
Human infrastructure for Macala has a very personal meaning. He thinks of national prisoners who had lost not only their freedom, but in their idleness, has also lost their dignity for productive work. He had initiated an educational program where he transformed the traditional token skills training for prisoners into a full blown college diploma program inside the prison walls. But for him, it was not enough. He wanted the inmates to redeem their dignity and worth as human beings while serving time, by doing productive work not just for their own sustenance but for the benefit of the society he had wronged. What could be a better concrete and symbolic gesture of penance than being able to produce the seeds that would feel the community they hope to eventually rejoin?
Yes, it was a dream. A dream not shared by all because not all believed that prisoners never cease to be human beings. Ka Karding believes that human infrastructure development must not exclude the prison community because whatever economic gains the free world could achieve, our treatment of our prisoners will define the kind of people and society that we have. Macala was given a rating of “outstanding” for innovation by the Career Executive Service Performance Evaluation System (CESPES), but his two years stint in office as BUCOR Director was not enough to pursue a radical vision if not shared by succeeding leaderships.
Economically speaking, the project to make the penal colonies as a Seed production Complex will not only result in efficient production with PHILRICE, acting as technical conduit, but will radically reduce the cost of production. The land is free and available, while the labor is abundant twenty four hours a day. There will be birth pains as proven by the Macala Experiment in Iwahig, and there will be oppositions and saboteurs both within and outside the bureau, since old systems however unproductive, will always have their traditional beneficiaries. It ultimately comes down to political will and a call for personal sacrifice to abandon shortsighted benefits for long term but lasting goals.
The writer of this article is a personal witness to Macala’s sincere effort to transform the Bureau of Corrections from a government dependent agency to a self-sustaining institution. Almost 100% of its appropriation goes to employee salary and foodstuff for prisoners. Nothing is left for infrastructure and other human development programs. Ironically, the bureau has vast and untapped natural resources in its colonies. The absence of a concrete utilization and development program for these resources had resulted in years of institutional corruption. The Bureau of Corrections is a classic example of what GMA called a long overdue need for physical and human infrastructure reform. Without active support and a defined policy from above, the kinds of Macala would be a lonely voice in the wilderness. But this is not the time for pessimism. If we really intend to move forward, we must forget the failings of the fast, continue to speak up and believe.
Andrew B. Blanca
Former Chief Accountant / Superintendent – BUCOR
College Faculty - FAITH
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