Philippines · Metro Manila · Muntinlupa
New Bilibid Prison
Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date.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.
Gallery
From Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA where not otherwise stated).
Photo by Judgefloro via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Photo by Judgefloro via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Photo by Unknown authorUnknown author via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Photo by Bureau of Corrections via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Photo by Monzonda c",) via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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
Facility profile
Operator
Bureau of Corrections
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
Various drug-conviction inmates including former politicians; the late Antonio Sanchez (deceased 2021).
Contact & address
Conditions Risk Score
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
- 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
Trend over time
Population and occupancy by year. Source: official corrections statistics + oversight reports.
Population held
Occupancy %
Compared to other facilities in Philippines
178 peersReports
- Bureau of Corrections internal review15 Mar 2024
Sustained overcrowding at ~4× design capacity. Dormitories operate under tacit inmate-organised governance.
Data completeness
100%How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.
Sources
- Bureau of Corrections
- Human Rights Watch — Philippines
- Human Rights Watch — World Report — Human Rights Watch
- Wikipedia — Wikimedia Foundation
- See /data-sources for our overall methodology.