Prison and health officials on Monday joined hands to adopt a policy on improving the health of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) in the country’s correction facilities.

The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), Department of Health, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Immigration, Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation signed the “National Policy on Promotion and Protection of Health in Jails, Prisons, Custodial Facilities, and Other Places of Detention.”

BuCor said the policy provides for the allocation of funds and resources, as well as ensuring “strategic directions in the implementation of policies, plans, and programs for health and development in places of detention; materials or management documents to support the implementation of the Healthy Places of Detention.”

“This endeavor will further improve the quality of healthcare services being provided by BuCor to our PDLs,” BuCor director general Gregorio Catapang said.

He said the policy would guarantee a strong collaboration among concerned agencies on improving PDLs’ health through their automatic inclusion in the National Health Insurance Program.

PDLs would also be granted eligibility to Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) packages under Republic Act 11223 or the Universal Health Care Act, Catapang said.

He said the New Bilibid Prison Hospital is one of the satellite treatment centers for tuberculosis (TB) in the National Capital Region.

He said PDLs confined in various corrections facilities of the BuCor are guaranteed 24/7 healthcare services.