BJMP chief: Congestion in jails led to deaths of 65 inmates
TACLOBAN CITY --- Bureau of Jail Management and Penology Chief, Director Serafin Barreto Jr. expressed alarm over the deaths of 65 inmates last month in various congested jail facilities around the country.
Speaking to the officials of the Press Corps of the Police Regional Office-8 during his two-day inspection of jails around the region, Barreto admitted that long-drawn problem of jail congestions nationwide has been found out to be the root cause of deaths of inmates in September.
"Sama-sama na dito kung bakit sila nagkakasakit. Kulang pa sila sa nutrisyon dahil nga maliit naman ang daily meal
allowance nila, nagkakahawaan pa sila ng sakit, lalong-lalo na sa tuberculosis dahil grabe ang congestion sa mga piitan natin," Barreto said.
Barreto lambasted the past Aquino administration for neglecting the sentiments of the BJMP, which had been asking for sufficient budget from the national government to solve the problem.
"We can observed then that in the past administration, BJMP was less priority over budgetary allocation, the reason why we could not move to come up with the solution to this problem and other rehabilitation efforts ," he said.
But Barreto said he is now determined to address this problem, considering that all district jails nationwide, under the BJMP, will soon be implementing a total ban on smoking. "The no-smoking order will cover also the jail personnel themselves," he said.
"I am imposing the 'no smoking' order para di na madagdagan ang mga sakit sa loob ng mga piitan. Even offices of jail officials and personnel will be 'no smoking' places, and whoever will be caught smoking will be automatically relieved from service," Barreto told the journalists.
Barreto said he will be issuing now a memorandum to all BJMP regional directors to enforce a total ban on smoking inside the jails under the bureau, as he warned of sanctions and penalties against wardens who will defy the order.
The no-smoking policy in all jails is in support of President Rodrigo Duterte's smoking ban in all public places, and in compliance with Civil Service Commission Memorandum Circular No.1,Series of 2009, implementing Republic Act 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2013, he said.
Barreto lauded BJMP-Eastern Visayas Regional Director Senior Superintendent Efren Nemeño for introducing reforms and programs in various jails in Leyte and Samar for the benefit and reformation of the inmates.
Nemeño earlier launched the therapeutic community (TC) project at Barangay Tungatunga in Maasin City in which BJMP officials, employees and inmates are involved in community projects and livelihood seminars, preparatory to their reformation and eventual release and return to the society as productive citizens, Barreto added. —