Short answer. Under Article 86 of the Revised Penal Code, sentences of reclusion perpetua, reclusion temporal, prision mayor, prision correccional, and arresto mayor must be served in the penal establishments designated by the Administrative Code or by future legislation — the specific facility is set by law, not by the sentencing court.
What the law says
The penalties of reclusion perpetua, reclusion temporal, prision mayor, prision correccional, and arresto mayor, shall be executed and served in the places and penal establishments provided by the Administrative Code in force or which may be provided by law in the future.
Revised Penal Code, Article 86 — Where Prison Terms Served. Read the full provision →
The five penalties and where they are served
Article 86 groups five principal penalties together: reclusion perpetua, reclusion temporal, prision mayor, prision correccional, and arresto mayor. For all five, the article sets the same rule: they are to be executed and served in the places and penal establishments provided by the Administrative Code in force or which may be provided by law in the future. The Revised Penal Code does not itself name any specific prison — it defers to the Administrative Code and to any future legislation that may designate the appropriate facilities. The sentencing court pronounces the penalty; the designation of where it is served is a matter of law and executive administration.
The spectrum of penalties covered
The five penalties in Article 86 span a wide range of severity. Reclusion perpetua, the most severe, carries imprisonment of forty years with no possibility of release under ordinary rules (the period was fixed by RA 9346 after the death penalty was prohibited). Reclusion temporal runs from twelve years and one day to twenty years. Prision mayor runs from six years and one day to twelve years. Prision correccional runs from six months and one day to six years. Arresto mayor is the shortest, running from one month and one day to six months. Despite this range, Article 86 sends all five to the same category of institution — national or regional penal establishments — rather than making them serve in different types of facilities.
Why the facility is set by law, not by the court
The rule that penal establishments are designated by the Administrative Code rather than by each court's judgment reflects the separation between the judicial function of determining guilt and penalty, and the executive function of administering detention. Courts impose sentences; the Bureau of Corrections and related agencies, operating under the law, manage where those sentences are served. This ensures uniformity and prevents individual courts from directing prisoners to specific facilities. It also allows the law to adapt — Article 86 explicitly anticipates that future legislation may provide new or different penal establishments, without requiring any amendment to the Revised Penal Code itself.
Arresto menor is not covered by Article 86
It is worth noting that Article 86 does not cover arresto menor, the lightest principal penalty (one day to thirty days). Arresto menor is served in different facilities — typically the municipal jail or the house of the defendant under the court's supervision — rather than in the national penal establishments that handle the longer penalties. Article 86's grouping of the five longer penalties reflects a practical distinction: the national prison system handles sentences of meaningful duration, while shorter confinements are administered at a local level. Someone serving a sentence under any of the five penalties in Article 86 will generally be committed to a facility under the Bureau of Corrections.