ILOILO City – Jail visitors must comply with all the health safety protocols or they would be refused entry, according to Jail Superintendent Gilbert Peremne, deputy director for administration of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Western Visayas.
“Wala kita sang inmates nga positive sa coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) so we have to maintain that,” he stressed.
BJMP-6 oversees 38 jails in the region.
Visitors could be family members or relatives of inmates. Peremne said they must pass safety protocol checks.
One of the requirements is a certification that they are free from COVID-19.
They are also required to wear facemask and observe physical distancing inside the jail.
BJMP-6 also has requirements for jails themselves, said Peremne, before they would be allowed to accept visitors.
“Our task force will assess jail facilities. We will not allow them to accept visitors if they fail to comply with the requirements,” said Peremne. “Maging mahalungon kita kay indi pa safe subong.”
One of the requirements is an isolation area where visitors and inmates could meet.
This meeting area must be far from cells and must have plastic barriers or coverings, said Peremne.
BJMP-6 recently (July 22) marked the bureau’s 29th anniversary.
“Despite the threat of COVID-19, BJMP personnel continue to perform their duties and responsibilities,” said Jail Senior Superintendent Baby Noel Montalvo, regional director.
He also announced that BJMP-6 had completed five new jail facilities.
This year’s anniversary theme was “Mahusay na Pamamahala sa Piitan, Matatag na Kabalikat sa Pampublikong Kaligtasan.”
These past 12 months, BJMP-6 conducted 6,539 greyhound operations that resulted in the confiscation of 19,816 contrabands in various jails.
Furthermore, 28 out of 38 jails in the region were certified by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency as drug-cleared./PN
