The population of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) jail facilities went down to 117,850 in June this year compared to the same month in 2023.
BJMP chief Director Ruel Rivera said there were 126,733 PDLs in June 2023, citing their data.
Aside from the huge strides made by the BJMP in jail decongestion, Rivera stated that 15 jail facilities were inaugurated from June 2023 to May 2024.
In this year’s BJMP Community Relations Month celebration, BJMP spokesperson Chief Inspector Jayrex Bustinera said that the bureau developed closer ties with the local government units (LGUs).
Bustinera explained that the BJMP’s move is geared towards attending to the needs for its temporarily-jailed PDLs to be “effectively reintegrated with the society,’’which is part of the program to reach to the community, particularly to the former PDLs.
The celebration also included the launching of the “Handbook on Islam in Places of Detention’’ where the BJMP gives prime importance on the proper treatment of the PDL muslims and the drumbeat on the bureau’s 33rd July1 anniversary.
Bustinera added that the handbook reveals how to have harmonious relationships with the muslim PDLs, given their restrictions in the aspect of food, the treatment of their wives and visitors and other sensitivities.
Encouraging the PDLs to enhance their spirituality, Bustinera emphasized that the BJMP respects their right to practice their religion with many multi-purpose areas for worship and facilities dedicated to worship like chapels and mosques available.
Bustinera added that the BJMP regional offices are promoting the agency’s pipeline projects like the “aftercare referral of the PDLs’’ that involves the community to prepare the inmates to be productive members of the society upon their release.
The other “aftercare services programs’’ also include the plea bargaining on drug cases where the majority of the PDLs especially involved in drug-related cases are set free where the care is continued at the community-based rehabilitation centers.
Recognizing the “Education Behind Bars’’ project, Bustinera disclosed that 10,000 BJMP PDLs graduated from junior and senior high school under the Alternative Learning System (ALS) as part of the agency’s “aftercare program’’ to provide them with the greater opportunity to avail jobs or continue with further studies.