Senator Christopher “Bong” Go on Tuesday supports the proposal to transfer the jurisdiction of all sub-provincial and provincial jails to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)saying this will work towards a more effective rehabilitation of inmates.
Go said through this initiative, the management of the country’s correctional facilities will be more efficient and the welfare of prisoners will be better protected.
“As in all other government offices, a unified standard of management for our correctional facilities will go a long way towards ensuring proper management,” Go said during a recent Senate hearing on the measure.
“This initiative before us will put all our jails under the management of the BJMP. This will make it easier to establish and implement an integrated approach to jail management.
The Senate public order and dangerous drugs, chaired by Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, had earlier started hearing the measure which seeks to transfer the supervision and control of all local and provincial jails under the BJMP.
Dela Rosa, who filed Senate Bill No. 1100, said the passage of the bill is necessary as this will result in uniform standards, policies, and guidelines in the administration of local jails and the advancement of the welfare of inmates and detainees.
Aside from Dela Rosa, other senators who filed a similar bill are Senators Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri and Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr.
According to the former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, local jails are currently under the jurisdiction of two different authorities.
City, Municipal and District jails are under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) while Provincial and Sub-Provincial jails are under the concerned provincial government.
“This setup hinders the advancement of a national standard in the operational management of all local jails that aims toward more effective rehabilitation of inmates,” Dela Rosa said.
However, Go said he believes the BJMP should first ensure that it is ready to implement this proposal once the measure is passed into law.
According to Go, the BJMP might need to hire and train around 14,500 additional personnel to man the BJMP.
“Let this be a challenge to the BJMP. This will only succeed if the BJMP is up to the task,” Go said.
“With your additional mandate, we in the Legislative hope that you will do what is necessary to ensure that the goals of this initiative will be attained,” Go said during the hearing.