Jail Chief Inspector Ali Macatanong remembers vividly the day the insurgents came to his prison.
He was serving as warden of the Marawi City Jail during the 2017 conflict in Mindanao, a group of islands in the south of the Philippines. Assailants from an ISIS-associated group had already taken control of Marawi City and were headed for the prison.
“We had to think fast. They had burned down the police precinct next door and they were coming to break into the jail,” recounts Jail Chief Inspector Ali Macatanong. The insurgents wanted to free the prisoners in hopes that they would join the siege.
Macatanong remembers advising the two Christian officers on duty to change into prisoner uniforms to avoid being targeted. While the insurgents took control of the prison, most prisoners did not join their ranks, and the officers were able to escape the conflict zone. Yet fighting continued for five months, and most of the city downtown area was destroyed – including the jail building.
Seven years later, a new facility has been built. While it would have been possible to simply replicate the old prison, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology had bigger plans. With the support of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Bureau developed a model jail, designed from the ground up to support rehabilitation and reintegration, not just incarceration.
UNODC’s technical support began with reviewing the plans for the building to ensure that it would be able to accommodate the services outlined in the United Nations Minimum Standards for the Treatment of Prisoners, otherwise known as the Nelson Mandela Rules.
"Spaces set up for cells have been repurposed into classrooms, storage areas into legal counseling spaces with privacy and one admin office was turned into a courtroom," describes Rafael Barreto Souza, a UNODC officer working on the project.
All staff to be assigned to the facility have received trained on security, prisoner assessment, health and reintegration services and gender-focused planning for female prisoners, as outlined in the Bangkok Rules.
This planning has been essential to support a move away from correctional management characterized by overcrowding, limited space and gang-based classification.
When the first small intake of 50 prisoners arrived in June 2024, they were assessed individually and classified according to their risks and needs. This careful approach will continue as the jail population increases to its full capacity.
Moreover, the jail’s approach has been designed to reduce the overall incarcerated population. With the majority of prisoners in the Philippines awaiting trial, provision of legal aid and access to courts are essential in decongesting overcrowded prisons. The new facility has designated a courtroom and adjoining areas for legal counselling, and the first in-prison hearings took place just four days after the arrival of the first batch of prisoners. Four of the eight prisoners whose cases were heard were released or granted probation.
Marawi City Executive Judge Wenida Papandayan highlights the new facility as "a symbol of progress and reform, a place where justice is not just a lofty ideal, but a tangible reality."
Jail Officer (JO1) Abdulrahman H. Ali, who worked in Marawi before the siege, was struck by the change in approach at the new facility.
“It overwhelmed me,” he said. “We were amazed with the equipment, the security system and the spacious dormitories for detainees. The old jail had no specific programmes for detainees and limited space, but now we have several areas to accommodate livelihood and educational programmes.”
The Marawi City government has also established the first school inside a jail in the Philippines, with four full-time teachers and a principal to oversee education. This will play a key role in supporting prisoners to gain new skills so that they are able to live better lives upon release. The Mindanao State University (MSU) is also supporting the jail with student extension services, including legal aid, social service, Islamic studies, physical education and agriculture. Students and faculty at MSU are familiar with the impact of terrorism, having experienced a bomb attack that killed 12 in December 2023, and getting involved in prison life has been a way to respond through a humane approach that supports peace efforts.
Today, Officer Ali is the Welfare and Development Officer at the jail and has become all the more passionate about his career in the correctional service. “Prisoners matter because they are still human. They need special attention, particularly those who were neglected by society. I believe that there is still a chance for them to make a brighter future for their lives.”
While Marawi is currently the only correctional facility of its kind in the Philippines, it represents a broader move away from punitive management towards a system that respects prisoners’ human rights and focuses on reintegration. In 2023, the Philippines joined the Group of Friends of the Nelson Mandela Rules – a growing group of 50 Member States that is committed to seeing the realization of the rules worldwide.
In the region of Mindanao, the facility represents something else: a new beginning. "Born out of the ashes of the Marawi Siege in 2017, this jail is a symbol of rebuilding and renewal after the harrowing events that unfolded," says BJMP Regional Director JSSUPT Bermar Adlaon.
Having witnessed the destruction of the old jail and guiding the transition to the new, Warden Ali Macatanong is now retiring. “I am happy with what we have done with this new facility,” he smiles. “It has the true potential to improve the lives of prisoners so they can leave better than they came.”
UNODC works with over 50 Member States around the world to reduce the scope of imprisonment, strengthen prison management and improve prison conditions, and foster the social reintegration prospects of offenders. Find out more.
