Metro Manila inmates' budget hiked to P16 per meal

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) has increased the food budget for inmates in Metro Manila jails from P13 to P16 for every meal.

Senior Inspector Josephine Pacadaljen, chief of the BJMP’s Civil Relation Service in Metro Manila, said the improvement was a result of consultations conducted between BJMP officials, headed by Director Rosendo Dial, BJMP-National Capital Region (NCR) director Chief Superintendent Serafin Barretto Jr., and Metro Manila jail wardens on how to improve the messing procedures in jails.

The BJMP-NCR’s regional food service council proposed the centralization of the menus in all NCR jails on a monthly basis. A similar program will be implemented nationwide, according to jail officials. There are 20,000 inmates in Metro Manila, and 64,000 inmates in other parts of the country.

According to Pacadaljen, a daily menu monitoring in all NCR jails has already been implemented to ensure that principles on food safety are followed.

With the program, some inmates were given champorado (chocolate porridge) for breakfast, while others enjoyed fried rice and tinapa (smoked fish). For lunch, they were given rice, tinola (a type of chicken stew) and vegetables. The inmates were given rice and fish for dinner.

Pacadaljen said they can afford to give inmates decent and reasonable food since the rice they give to inmates came from the National Food Authority (NFA). – Cecille Suerte Felipe