BACOLOD CITY, Philippines - The Negros Occidental provincial government has turned over the new Provincial Jail to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Tuesday.
Renamed as Negros Occidental District Jail, this facility located in Brgy. Tabunan Bago City was turned over by Governor Alfredo Maranon Jr. to BJMP chief Rosendo Dial.
Maranon said the new jail, the most modern in the country, provides detainees a decent and humane place to stay for them to have more opportunities to reform their lives.
It can accommodate double of the current number of inmates, and has separate detention cells for women and men inmates, as well as conjugal quarters, he said.
The complete turnover has a transition period of two years, based on the memorandum of agreement signed by Maranon and Dial.
Until that time, the Capitol will operate the jail, with an estimated budget of P30 million a year, mostly for food of inmates and salaries of personnel, the governor said.
Dial said this new facility is the 8th Provincial Jail that was turned over to BJMP, the latest of which was the Iloilo Provincial Jail. There are now 14 provincial jails all over the country being operated by BJMP.
He added that the transfer of 460 Provincial Jail inmates to the new jail will be in July. There will be about 60 BJMP personnel to be detailed here, 30 of whom were guards at the old Provincial Jail. — THE FREEMAN