Most Iloilo female inmates facing drug cases

ILOILO CITY — Most women who are behind bars in Iloilo province are involved in drug-related cases.

“Almost 82-percent are facing drugrelated cases,” said Jail Officer 2 Emily Ann Guintivano of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

During Monday’s outreach program at the Iloilo District Jail, the Iloilo Provincial Capitol Press Corps and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) found that majority of the female detainees have been in jail since the President Duterte launched an aggressive campaign against drugs in 2016.

Guintivano, who is a paralegal officer, noted many of these female persons deprived of liberty (PDL) have to endure the slow system at the courts. In effect, they have to stay for a longer period of time in jail.

One of them is a 21-year-old mother, who requested anonymity. She was arrested last year on a charge of conspiring to sell illegal drugs with a relative who was eventually shot and killed by police operatives.

Claiming innocence, she told Manila Bulletin she is in distress knowing she’s going to have a long jail time since it is taking a long time for the court to hear her case.

In Iloilo City, BJMP also recorded a high rate of female PDLs who are facing drugrelated cases. Of the 233 female detainees, 217 are in jail for drug cases.