World Prisons
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Philippines · Metro Manila · Muntinlupa

New Bilibid Prison

NationalMaximummaleOvercrowded (426%)ElevatedHigh
Verified · Data dated
Aging · 5mo ago
Sources last reviewed on · data-as-of

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

For families

How to send mail, money, and visit New Bilibid Prison

Step-by-step guidance using the Philippines system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.

Open toolkit
Photograph of New Bilibid Prison

Gallery

From Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA where not otherwise stated).

  • 1311National Bilibid Prison Reservation 16.jpg

    Photo by Judgefloro via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

  • 1311National Bilibid Prison Reservation 17.jpg

    Photo by Judgefloro via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

  • Japanese nurse with dependent children having typical appearance of malnutrition, New Bilibid Prison, September-October 1945.jpg

    Photo by Unknown authorUnknown author via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • NBP COVID-19 Testing.jpg

    Photo by Bureau of Corrections via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • NBPtoday.jpg

    Photo by Monzonda c",) via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

  • New Bilibid Prison.png

    Photo by New Bilibid Prison via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Largest prison in the Philippines and one of the most overcrowded in the world at ~4× design capacity.

Background

The New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila, is the main insular prison designed to house the prison population of the Philippines. It is maintained by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) under the Department of Justice (DOJ). As of December 2025, the NBP housed 28,616 inmates, nearly five times its intended capacity of 6,345. By July 2023, the DOJ had suspended admitting new inmates to the prison to address overcrowding and prison gang wars. As such, BuCor Chief Gregorio Catapang Jr.

Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.

Capacity

6,345

Current population

27,000

Occupancy

426%

Year opened

1940

Operational

Figures from official sources · verified 29 May 2026 · methodology

Facility profile

Population held

male

Opened

1940

Region

Metro Manila

Security level

Maximum

Death-row facility

No

Conditions

Severely overcrowded; documented inmate-organised governance of dorms.

Visiting

Visits on weekends; pre-approval and ID required. Capacity-constrained.

Mailing

Inmate Name & Prison Number, New Bilibid Prison, Muntinlupa City 1770, Philippines.

Practical info

Inmate organisations control logistics inside many dorms — a recurring topic of national audits.

Known issues

Multiple operational reviews following high-profile media exposure of inmate-organised privilege systems.

Notable inmates

Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.

Contact & address

Muntinlupa City, Muntinlupa 1770
+63 2 8809 8587
Official site

Conditions Risk Score

Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated

46/100
Elevated concern46/100
Overcrowding
30/30
Oversight reports
6/30
Structural flags
5/15
Death signals
5/15
Conditions text
0/10

What the score is responding to:

  • · Extreme overcrowding at 426% of capacity
  • · 1 oversight report in the last 5 years
  • · Substantial documented known-issues record
  • · In-custody-death signal in sources

This facility scores 46. The national average across 262 scored Philippines facilities is 32 — 14 points above national average.

Trend over time

Population and occupancy by year. Source: official corrections statistics + oversight reports.

Population held

2016: 23,500+14.9%2024: 27,000

Occupancy %

2016: 370.0%+14.9%2024: 425.0%

Related facilities

All in Philippines →

Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.

Compared to other facilities in Philippines

261 peers
Conditions risk scorethis: 46/100 · peers avg: 30/100 (+53%)

Higher risk than 100% of peer facilities in Philippines.

Occupancythis: 426% · peers avg: 1777% (76%)
Capacity (beds)this: 6345 · peers avg: 538 (+1080%)

Reports

  • Bureau of Corrections internal review15 Mar 2024

    Sustained overcrowding at ~4× design capacity. Dormitories operate under tacit inmate-organised governance.

    source

Data completeness

100%

How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.

Sources

Cite this page

Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.

APA
World Prisons. (2026). New Bilibid Prison. Retrieved October 19, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/new-bilibid
Chicago
"New Bilibid Prison." World Prisons. Accessed October 19, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/new-bilibid.
BibTeX
@misc{worldprisons-new-bilibid,
  author = {{World Prisons}},
  title = {New Bilibid Prison},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/new-bilibid},
  urldate = {2026-10-19}
}