BY RHENJIE MARIE CALANTAS
ILOILO – Their meals were not enough and poorly prepared.
Items being sold in the commissary were too expensive.
The warden needed to shape up.
These were the complaints of around a hundred protesting persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at the Iloilo District Jail in Barangay Nanga, Pototan town yesterday.
To attract public attention to their plight, they climbed to the roof of the jail’s administrative building and staged a noise barrage.
They eventually demanded the ouster of the jail warden, Jail Chief Inspector Norberto Miciano Jr.
The protest started at around 8:30 a.m. It ended at around 3:30 p.m. after seven hours of negotiation with the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
The Iloilo District Jail has a population of over a thousand PDLs, according to BJMP Region 6 spokesperson Jairus Dogelio.
From what he had gathered, however, Dogelio said the protest could have been more than just about jail food.
Recently, 44 PDLs were transferred to a new building still at the Iloilo District Jail compound. According to Dogelio, some inmates were fearful they would be next to be transferred.
The 44 inmates were deemed high-risk, high-profile, and high-value.
How did the PDLs get to the rooftop of the district jail’s administration building?
Dogelio said the PDLs saw an opportunity to climb to the roof while they were preparing for a regular Mass at the facility.
Then they held a noise barrage.
“We have already received a directive from our regional director to immediately remove our existing warden there and to place someone to take charge of the facility,” according to Dogelio.
Miciano was replaced by his deputy, Jail Inspector Woody Palmejar.
A probe on the inmates’ concerns would be conducted.
Dogelio said a food service supervisor handles the preparation of food, which has a budget of P70 per PDL per day for three meals.
“Ang aton nga pagkaon regular man ina, may ara kita food service supervisor nga naga-oversee sang ila nga pagkaon three times a day kag may budget ini sila nga P70 for one day,” said Dogelio./PN
