A total of 338 personnel from various law enforcement authorities and an emergency response group conducted operation “Oplan Linis Piitan’’ in a bid to rid the Zamboanga City Jail from illegal drugs and other contrabands.

After the operation, the composite team confiscated 575 illegal and nuisance contraband but found no illegal drugs in the jail facility.

The Zamboanga City Jail Male Dormitory houses 2,175 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) and has a congestion rate of 1,006 percent.

“We would like to complement the policing efforts of Zamboanga City Police Office and the anti-drug campaign of the City of Zamboanga by ensuring that our facility is free from any types of contraband particularly illegal drugs”, jail warden Supt. Xavier Solda said.

“I directed our custodial officers to increase the frequency of random search operations in jail cells to strengthen the security in our unit”, he added.

A composite team from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Zamboanga City Police Office, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Zamboanga, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Zamboanga among others conducted the inspection.

Zamboanga City Police Director Col. Alexander Lorenzo expressed full support to the city jail in its security agenda particularly in ensuring that the whole facility is free from any forms of contraband.

In an interview, Solda highlighted the value of a whole-of-nation approach in the campaign against illegal drugs while backing the Buhay ay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan (BIDA) program of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“Nais nating mapagbuti ang kalagayan ng mga PDL at tiyakin na ligtas silang nakikibahagi sa mga reformation programs ng pasilidad (We would like to improve the condition of the PDL and ensure that they are safely being part of the reformation programs in the facility),’’ Solda stressed. (Chito A. Chavez)

#surprise inspection

BJMP conducts surprise inspection at Zamboanga City Jail