ILOILO City – The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology’s (BJMP) Iloilo City District Jail – Male Dormitory in Barangay Ungka, Jaro district bagged the Red Orchid Award (ROA) for the third consecutive year.
The Red Orchid Award is the Department of Health’s (DOH) annual prize for government hospitals, offices and local government units (LGUs) that sustain a 100-percent tobacco-free environment and meet the quality standards on tobacco prevention and control set by the World Health Organization.
This third award for the male dormitory, according to jail warden Superintendent Mary Chanette Espartero, makes the Iloilo City District Jail eligible for the Hall of Fame citation.
DOH started the ROA in 2009. Winners are determined based on the following: monitoring of tobacco use and prevention policies; protecting people from tobacco use; offering help to quit tobacco use; warning about the dangers of tobacco; ahd enforcing bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
Espartero said the smoking ban at the prison facility covers not only the inmates but also jail personnel.
Visitors, too, are being inspected thoroughly to make sure they are not smuggling into the jail contrabands such as cigarettes, added Espartero.
“To get this award is not easy. We have to monitor hundreds of inmates who are mostly smokers. I’m thankful for their cooperation,” according to the jail warden.
The Iloilo District Jail, which currently has a total of 851 inmates facing mostly illegal drug and murder charges, started enforcing the smoking ban three years ago.
“We are maintaining a No Smoking Policy. Our staff and inmates are thus healthy,” said Espartero.
The ROA awarding ceremony will be on Nov. 29 in Manila./PN
