ILOILO CITY – The Iloilo provincial government on Tuesday, Sept. 6, vowed to augment the food budget of Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) at the Iloilo District Jail (IDJ) in Pototan following a massive protest action last month over insufficient meals that led to the relief of the detention facility’s warden.
“We don’t have the exact budget, but we will give an additional budget,” said Iloilo Provincial Board Member Carol V. Espinosa-Diaz, chairperson of the Committee on Justice, Good Government, and Human Rights.
During a committee hearing on Tuesday, Diaz said that the P23 food budget per meal for PDLs daily is not enough.
It was found out that each PDL only has an allocation of P70 per day or P23 allocation for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, respectively.
More than 100 PDLs staged a noise barrage atop the IDJ on Aug. 24 and held signs that said “Gutom kami! (We’re hungry!).”
The IDJ, which houses PDLs from all over Iloilo, used to be under the operation and management of the Iloilo provincial government.
Its operation and management was handed over to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-Region 6 under the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Diaz said that they will pass a resolution urging Congress and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to allocate more funding for the food of PDLs.