Mayor Belmonte presses for prison reforms
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Thursday, May 19, appealed to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to institute reforms to prevent the entry of deadly weapons and drugs in penal institutions.
This, after the riot inside the Quezon City Jail in Barangay Kamuning on May 13.
“Isa sa mga ginagampanan ng mga jail institution ay ang pagbibigay ng pangalawang pagkakataon sa mga mamamayan na magbago at makabangon mula sa kanilang pagkakasala. Pero, paano natin mababago ang buhay ng mga PDL (Persons Deprived of Liberty) kung habang nasa loob ng piitan ay nalululong sila sa ilegal na droga at nadadamay sa mga kaguluhan (One of the roles of jail institutions is to provide a second chance to citizens to change and recover from their crimes. But, how can we change the lives of PDLs if, while in prison, they are addicted to illegal drugs and involved in riots),” Belmonte said.
“That’s why I call on our DILG, the current and upcoming SILG (Secretary of Interior and Local Government), to press for prison reforms. They can counter wrongdoings inside the institution if we address the PDL’s needs, implement a stricter and humane prison policy, and more importantly, capacitate our police and BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology) personnel and make them less tempted to accept bribes in exchange for the unhampered entry of weapons and drugs,” she added.
According to the report, the riot was staged by the Batang City Jail members to force the removal of current QC Male Dormitory Warden J/Supt. Michelle Bonto.
The plan was allegedly hatched after Bonto’s team curbed the illegal drugs trade inside the jail.
After the incident, the QC Male Dormitory - Intelligence Unit started Operation Greyhound on Monday, May 16, to confiscate all smuggled and illegal devices and drugs hidden in the cells.
"Operation Greyhound, which started on Monday, has confiscated guns and ammunition, marijuana, improvised bladed weapons, ice picks, indian arrows made out of concrete nails, and even lighters, screw drivers, and cellphones. Tuluy-tuloy pa rin ang operasyon natin para matigil na ang ilegal na gawain sa loob ng city jail (Operation Greyhound, which started on Monday, has confiscated guns and ammunition, marijuana, improvised bladed weapons, ice picks, indian arrows made out of concrete nails, and even lighters, screw drivers, and cellphones. We are still continuing our operation to stop illegal activities inside the city jail)," Bonto said.
The ongoing operation yielded the biggest number of deadly weapons and stash of illegal drugs inside the Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory.