BJMP proposes integrated jail facility

Only with the approval of a proposed integrated regional jail can the worsening problem of congestion in Metro Manila detention facilities be solved.

The point was raised by a top official of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) yesterday, in reaction to a report on the recent deaths of six inmates at a Parañaque City Jail. The deaths, which came in a period of two weeks, was allegedly due to poor conditions and congestion in the facility.

BJMP National Capital Region director Chief Superintendent Armando Llamasares admitted that limited resources and support has prevented them from acting on the deaths and similar incidents in other jail facilities.

"There is no way to address congestion for now. Kahit anong gawin naming expansion ng mga jail, wala talaga. Hindi talaga kayang ma-accommodate lahat ng pumapasok sa loob," he lamented.

Llamasares also admitted that medical missions conducted by the bureau and various volunteer groups are still not enough to attend to all medical and health concerns of all 22,134 inmates in the 23 city and municipal jails in Metro Manila.

The BJMP official stressed that the only way they can improve on the condition of jails is through the proposed integration of all Metro Manila jails, which is now being deliberated upon by the Senate committee on public order, chaired by Sen. Manny Villar.

Under the proposal, all detainees in Metro Manila would be housed at a jail community, where a housing project for BJMP workers would also be put up.

The closest integrated facility that BJMP has is the Metro Manila District Jail in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, where detainees with high-profile cases are housed.

Llamasares said among the sites they are eyeing for the integrated facility, which requires about P4 billion in funds, are Tierra Pura and Payatas in Quezon City, Montalban and Tanay in Rizal province.

"Among the things we being considered in putting up the facility are convenience and accessibility to relatives of inmates and BJMP employees," he said.

Apart from the housing project for bureau personnel, the BJMP-NCR chief said a business center would also be included in the facility, which is patterned after the colonies and prisons of the Bureau of Corrections.

Llamasares explained that the funding for constructing the facility would not be a big burden to the government as the private sector has shown interest in supporting the project.

As for the maintenance of the jail facility, the official said they can depend on financial support of local government units.

Construction of the proposed jail community would have four stages and would take two years to finish, he said.

"This is the best solution we can think of for now, given the limited resources we have," Llamasares said.

The six Parañaque City Jail inmates were identified as Paterno Halayhay, Pepito Payong, Christopher Castillo, Primo Prado, Jovencio Calagi and Felipe Bibat. All were rushed to different hospitals where they died of stroke.

As of latest count, there are 828 inmates housed at the three-story jail facility, which was designed for only 200 prisoners, located at the back of City Hall compound.

Just like in other equally congested prison facilities in Metro Manila, inmates in PCJ take turns in sleeping and have been dealing with various contagious diseases, according to a group performing volunteer work in the facility.

It was learned that the population of PCJ inmates has doubled from 2002. To accommodate at least 400 additional inmates, all the BJMP officials could do was to expand the third floor of the building and build cells on the section formerly used for inmates’ physical activities.

Llamasares has also admitted that the slow pace of justice system in the country has contributed greatly to jail congestion.