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Dela Rosa: BJMP soon to manage all jail facilities under Jail Integration Act
Philippines
National
Dela Rosa: BJMP soon to manage all jail facilities under Jail Integration Act
Dela Rosa: BJMP soon to manage all jail facilities under Jail Integration Act
Published Jul 28, 2023 12:31 am
Provincial and sub-provincial jails would soon be under the management of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
This, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said, will happen once the proposed Jail Integration Act is enacted into law.
Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa (Senate PRIB Photo)
“By turning over the provincial and sub-provincial jails under the jurisdiction of the BJMP, we shall be giving more freedom to our provincial governments to direct their resources in accordance with their respective priorities,” Dela Rosa said in his sponsorship speech of Senate Bill No. 2352 last Wednesday, July 26. “Most of the provincial governments in our country are pushing for the enactment of this measure. They are willing to transfer the current provincial jail properties in accordance with the existing laws,” the senator pointed out. Furthermore, the former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, stressed the need for jail integration and to ease provincial governments of this responsibility, noting that since 1990, they have been meeting this challenge head on. “And while this is noble of them, we also wish that they may utilize their resources more fully, in ways that will be more productive for them. By turning over the provincial and sub-provincial jails under the jurisdiction of the BJMP, we shall be giving more freedom to our Provincial Governments to direct their resources in accordance to their respective priorities,” he said. Moreover, dela Rosa said most of the provincial governments in the country are pushing for the enactment of this measure and are willing to transfer the current provincial jail properties in accordance with existing laws. While there are questions regarding the transition, the lawmaker said the bill seeks to address this by ensuring that the employees of existing provincia and sub-provincial jails are absorbed by the BJMP, subject to existing qualification standards. “For purposes of computation of their retirement and pension benefits, their services rendered prior to the enactment of the measure shall be included. Hindi po natin babaliwalain ang kanilang mga naging serbisyo sa provincial jails sa ilalim ng kanilang provincial government (We will not disregard their service in the provincial jails rendered under their provincial government),” he said. “Those employees who, at the time of transfer, already reach the mandatory retirement age of the BJMP, we shall encourage the Provincial Government to absorb them under their employ,” dela Rosa said. “No one will be left behind, that is the assurance I will give,” he added. Under the proposed law, the former top cop also said there will be a three-year transition period to enable the upgrades and provide provincial jails, including city and municipal jails, sufficient time to comply with cleanliness, sanitation requirements, equipment and property requirements. During this transition period, he said the provincial government will continue to provide for the subsistence allowance of inmates, as well as for the maintenance of the jail facility. “Thus, as we aim to transfer the jurisdiction of our provincial and sub-provincial jails from the provincial government to the BJMP, the task precisely is to translate synergy into law,” he stressed. “The BJMP may be charged with the handling of Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL), but it is the humble opinion of this representation, that the liberty to manage our jails must be given to them, fully and without exemption, in accordance with the law,” the lawmaker reiterated.
Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa (Senate PRIB Photo)
“By turning over the provincial and sub-provincial jails under the jurisdiction of the BJMP, we shall be giving more freedom to our provincial governments to direct their resources in accordance with their respective priorities,” Dela Rosa said in his sponsorship speech of Senate Bill No. 2352 last Wednesday, July 26. “Most of the provincial governments in our country are pushing for the enactment of this measure. They are willing to transfer the current provincial jail properties in accordance with the existing laws,” the senator pointed out. Furthermore, the former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, stressed the need for jail integration and to ease provincial governments of this responsibility, noting that since 1990, they have been meeting this challenge head on. “And while this is noble of them, we also wish that they may utilize their resources more fully, in ways that will be more productive for them. By turning over the provincial and sub-provincial jails under the jurisdiction of the BJMP, we shall be giving more freedom to our Provincial Governments to direct their resources in accordance to their respective priorities,” he said. Moreover, dela Rosa said most of the provincial governments in the country are pushing for the enactment of this measure and are willing to transfer the current provincial jail properties in accordance with existing laws. While there are questions regarding the transition, the lawmaker said the bill seeks to address this by ensuring that the employees of existing provincia and sub-provincial jails are absorbed by the BJMP, subject to existing qualification standards. “For purposes of computation of their retirement and pension benefits, their services rendered prior to the enactment of the measure shall be included. Hindi po natin babaliwalain ang kanilang mga naging serbisyo sa provincial jails sa ilalim ng kanilang provincial government (We will not disregard their service in the provincial jails rendered under their provincial government),” he said. “Those employees who, at the time of transfer, already reach the mandatory retirement age of the BJMP, we shall encourage the Provincial Government to absorb them under their employ,” dela Rosa said. “No one will be left behind, that is the assurance I will give,” he added. Under the proposed law, the former top cop also said there will be a three-year transition period to enable the upgrades and provide provincial jails, including city and municipal jails, sufficient time to comply with cleanliness, sanitation requirements, equipment and property requirements. During this transition period, he said the provincial government will continue to provide for the subsistence allowance of inmates, as well as for the maintenance of the jail facility. “Thus, as we aim to transfer the jurisdiction of our provincial and sub-provincial jails from the provincial government to the BJMP, the task precisely is to translate synergy into law,” he stressed. “The BJMP may be charged with the handling of Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL), but it is the humble opinion of this representation, that the liberty to manage our jails must be given to them, fully and without exemption, in accordance with the law,” the lawmaker reiterated.