DUE to lack of professional employees with highly technical qualifications, Bureau of Corrections (BuCDor) chief Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. ordered the modification of training courses in order to attract more applicants and meet the agency’s requirements.
Catapang said the BuCor was experiencing shortages of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, teachers, guidance counsellors, chaplains, and other highly technical professionals due to tedious training required of the applicants.
Citing as example the ratio of one doctor per 5,371 inmates as opposed to the ideal ratio of 1:700, the shortfall would be worsened by the forthcoming retirement of three doctors, Catapang said.
To remedy the situation, Catapang said they had to make some adjustments for the applicants with technical qualifications by reducing their training time to one and half months instead of the usual six months, and limit the training to an executive training course minus the tedious physical activities.
