• Corpus ID: 8856929

Pangkat: Inmate Gangs at the New Bilibid Prison Maximum Security Compound .

@inproceedings{CandalizaGutierrez2012PangkatIG,
  title={Pangkat: Inmate Gangs at the New Bilibid Prison Maximum Security Compound .},
  author={Filomin A. Candaliza-Gutierrez},
  year={2012}
}

• Filomin A. Candaliza-Gutierrez
• Published 2012
• Law

This is a study of inmate gangs (pangkats) at the New Bilibid Prison Maximum Security Compound. Through focus group discussions (FGDs) with pangkatmembers and review of documents, the study found that pangkats formed around the 1950s around ethno-linguistic divisions between Tagalog (Sigue Sigue) and non-'Iagalog speaking inmates (OXO). Inadequate provisions, strained inmate-guard relationship and restrictive visiting policies incited escapes and violent riots between rival gangs in those years. Since the 1980s the pangkats transitioned into units of local self-governance with mechanisms for leadership, dispute arbitration, control of antisocial behavior, and cooperation with other pangkats and the Bureau of Corrections. The combination of relaxed visiting policies, including conjugal visits and family stay-ins, and the increased entry of civil society groups (CSGs) boosted a local economy,"normalized" the all-male population and presented opportunities for inmates to regain lost "moral status" by occupying respected positions. When the barriers that isolated the compound were lowered, the pangkat society increased its social capital, expanded its social network, bridged gaps between other gangs, the Bureau of Corrections and the free society (tagalaya) and functioned less as parochial defense and conflict groups and more as organizations of self-local governance.