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Philippine prison corruption: P6 million in detainee funds unaccounted for
Money sent by families goes into a "trust fund” to buy extra food to supplement inadequate prison meals that cost only P100 (Dh6) for three meals per prisoner per day, or P33 (Dh2) per meal
- PUBLISHED: Sat 15 Aug 2026, 6:00 AM
Corruption in the Philippines is also affecting its prisons, with detainees complaining about funds sent by their families and friends for their daily needs going missing.
Human rights group Karapatan revealed that up to P6 million (Dh364,000) of funds remitted to the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City could not be accounted for. The CIW is the Philippine prison for detainees who have been convicted and are serving their respective sentences or appealing their guilty verdicts in the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.
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A recent audit revealed that out of the total recorded remittances of P13 million (Dh787,000), only P7 million (Dh424,000) could be accounted for by Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) personnel handling the “trust fund,” Karapatan said.
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The BuCor is CIW’s supervising agency, which in turn is under the supervision of the Philippine Department of Justice.
Karapatan said prisoners demand accountability, the return of their funds, and the abolition of the “trust fund” system at the prison.
The PDLs (persons deprived of liberty/ prisoners) also called on the Commission on Human Rights, the Department of Justice and the House of Representatives to investigate the report.
The CIW and the BuCor have declined requests from Khaleej Times for comment.
What are prisoner funds for?
Money sent by families is deposited into a "trust fund”, which is used to buy extra food to supplement inadequate prison meals, pegged at only P100 (Dh6) for three meals per prisoner per day, or the equivalent of P33 (Dh2) per meal.
The detainees also use the funds to buy sanitary items, such as feminine pads, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, detergent, and cover other expenses. The Philippine prison system disallows such items to be given by visitors, forcing the detainees to buy these at stores inside the facilities. Such stores are operated by prison personnel.
In other detention facilities, contraband items such as cigarettes, liquor and even narcotics are sold by prison personnel at premium prices, giving way to corruption. Various local reports said rich prisoners may even rent entire cells that could be turned into gambling dens, methamphetamine laboratories, recording studios, prostitution dens, or just about anything a detainee may think of or that is allowed by prison wardens.
Funds from prisoner telephone calls
Karapatan said CIW superintendent Daisy Castillote has repeatedly refused to hold concerned personnel accountable, offering instead to have the missing amount replaced using funds earned from the prisoner telephone calls, which currently cost P3.00 (18 fils) every five minutes.
Castillote reportedly plans to raise the fee of each five-minute telephone call to P5.00 (30 fils) until the funds “lost” are replenished.
“On top of this, the detainees will no longer be receiving a share from the telephone call income that they could use to defray costs for their dormitories’ needs,” Karapatan said in a statement.
The prison manager’s so-called solution has angered the political detainees inside the CIW and regular prisoners who said that they bear the burden of replacing the missing funds, Karapatan added, underscoring: “It is the liable Bucor employees who should be investigated, charged criminally and administratively and compelled to return the stolen money.”