Despite being identified as a priority of the government through inter-agency cooperation, efforts to decongest the country’s jails have yielded only very minimal gains with the national jail congestion rate dropping by just 11 percent as of August 2026.
Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Jon Paulo V. Salvahan disclosed the latest figures during the opening day of the two-day Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC) Summit at The Manila Hotel in Manila on Monday.
Salvahan said the national jail congestion rate declined from 292% to 281% as of August and acknowledged that the figure remains “far too high.”
“As of August 2026, the national jail congestion rate declined from 292 percent to 281 percent. But 281 percent is still far too high,” Salvahan said in his speech.
He said the government must continue strengthening paralegal services and coordination among courts, prosecutors, law enforcement agencies and jail authorities to ensure that cases move forward and persons deprived of liberty are afforded their legal rights.
Salvahan stressed that no single government institution can address jail congestion on its own.
“No single institution can solve these problems alone,” he said.
He called for closer coordination and information-sharing among agencies involved in the justice system.
Salvahan said the DILG would continue working with local government units and JSCC partners to strengthen existing Justice Zones and establish more across the country.
The two-day JSCC Summit, which runs from Sept. 21 to 22, seeks to improve coordination, cooperation and communication among justice sector institutions and enhance the overall efficiency of the justice system.
The JSCC is composed of the Supreme Court, Department of Justice and DILG.
The council was established through a joint declaration in 2010 and later institutionalized under Chapter 13 of the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.#