By Chito Chavez The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) has 2,000 new jail officers after the simultaneous mass oath taking ceremony was conducted yesterday for the 16 BJMP regions with the BJMP National Capital Region Office taking their oath on July 15. BJMP spokesman Chief Inspector Xavier Solda noted the BJMP’s 2019 regular quota was doubled by the national government to 2,000 from 1,000 slots last year. Newly installed BJMP Chief Jail Director Allan Iral formally welcomed the additional workforce into the existing 13,166 personnel strength of the Jail Bureau. “You are now duty bound to uphold the rule of law and faithfully comply with your duties as civil servants”, Iral said. “Ipinagkatiwala sa inyo hindi lamang ang responsibilidad na mangalaga sa mga kapatid nating naligaw ng landas kundi maging ang pagkilala sa kanilang mga karapatan. Nawa ay maging mabuting halimbawa kayo ng tapat at mabuting lingkod bayan, (We are entrusting to you not only the responsibility to take good care of our brothers who have gone astray but making sure their rights are protected. I hope that all of you will be role models of what a true public servant should be),” he added. Iral added the initiative will narrow the shortage of personnel based on the standard personnel to PDL ratio. Based on the approved personnel distribution issued by BJMP’s Directorate for Personnel and Records Management, a total of 1,600 male and 400 female recruits have been added to the rank and file of the Jail Bureau. Iral noted the simultaneous oath taking is the culmination of BJMP’s massive recruitment campaign dubbed as “One on One Para sa Bayan” launched last January 2019. It aims not only to build public awareness on the 2000 jail officer 1 vacancies but also to provide the necessary tools in preparing the PDL’s return to society. As an entry level in BJMP, JO1 position comes with a monthly net salary of P37,448 which includes the base pay, hazard pay, rice allowance, subsistence, quarter, clothing and laundry allowances. The general qualification to become a jail officer includes baccalaureate degree, civil service eligibility and between 21-30 years old. They must also be at least 1.62 meters tall for men and 1.57 meters tall for women and weigh not more than 5 kilograms from their ideal weight. In his message, Iral showed confidence to the newly listed personnel which he called as colleagues and encouraged them to make most of the opportunity given to them in facing this new chapter of their lives as jail officers. “The mass hiring is essential to provide quality jail management service towards a more rehabilitative facility for our PDL.” he said in closing. To date, BJMP is now housing 134, 113 persons deprived of liberty in its 478 jails nationwide.