MANILA, Philippines — The warden of the Malabon City Jail was removed from his post after detainees staged a noise barrage on Friday afternoon to protest alleged anomalies committed by jail officials.
At around 4:30 p.m., more than 100 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) in the jail’s male dormitory started yelling for the removal of Jail Supt. Joseph Eisen Tacdoy, according to a statement from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology shared by BJMP spokesman Chief Insp. Jayrex Bustinera.
“PDLs broke the glass windows (and) threw things outside the facility,” the BJMP said.
Glass shards, around 200 smashed monobloc and steel chairs and broken pipes littered the area outside the jail.
Some detainees held placards to call attention to their plight as they stood along wire fences. The detainees alleged that rice given to them had been contaminated and they were not given enough food.
The BJMP said the noise barrage was “triggered by the transfer of two PDLs they considered ‘mayores’ and the alleged irregularities inside the facility.”
The Malabon City police named the “mayores,” considered informal leaders among the detainees, as Anthony Francisco and Danilo Francisco, who were transferred to the Metro Manila District Jail.
After negotiations with officials led by Vice Mayor Bernard dela Cruz, monitored by Mayor Jeannie Sandoval and BJMP officials, the detainees stopped their noise barrage at around 7:30 pm.
BJMP acting head Chief Supt. Ruel Rivera ordered Tacdoy removed as jail warden, saying he “will be subject to investigation.”
While visits were restricted, relatives were allowed to give food to the detainees, according to reports.
The detainees also cleaned up the mess they made during the noise barrage, the BJMP reported.
AS the BJMP deployed additional personnel to secure the city jail, which was placed under “heightened alert,” Bustinera said the peace and order situation in the facility “remained normal” as of yesterday.