Duterte vows BJMP upgrade
President Duterte vowed to improve the lives and working conditions of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) personnel and prisoners.
In his speech during his jail visit in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, Duterte said that after visiting the prisoners, he is satisfied with how the BJMP is being run.
“Noong binisita ko sila, OK naman sila [prisoners] (When I visited them earlier, they looked OK) and I’m happy. I’m satisfied how it is being run by the BJMP,” Duterte said Wednesday night.
Duterte also promised to install television sets in each cell under the BJMP for the prisoners by month’s end.
“We would want to give them everything but sabi ko sa kanila (I told them) each and every selda (cell) would have a TV by the end of the month,” Duterte said.
“Kaawa naman yung preso walang libangan (The prisoners are quite pitiful because they don’t have a means of entertainment),” he added.
The President also said that he is thinking of buying all the handicraft products created by the BJMP prisoners through the Department of Social Welfare and Development and find ways to market their products so the prisoners can earn money.
Duterte also said that he would like to follow up whether the children of the prisoners are still able to go to school or not.
According to BJMP spokesperson Senior Jail Inspector Xavier Solda, Duterte had a briefing with BJMP officials for an hour before proceeding with the inspection on the Manila District Jail annexes.
Solda, however, said Duterte was not able to meet some of the high-profile inmates who are under the custody of the BJMP including alleged pork barrel scam queen Janet Lim Napoles and the Maute matriarch Farhana Maute.
The BJMP official also added that Duterte, during the briefing, promised a staggard increase in their salary.
Duterte also reportedly committed another jail facility to be constructed near the Special Action Forces building and hopes to receive the plan at the soonest time possible so construction can start next year.