ILOILO City – A stronger push for rehabilitation and development programs for persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) is expected in Western Visayas as Jail Chief Superintendent Elena B. Rocamora takes the helm of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology Region 6 (BJMP-6).
Rocamora, a career BJMP official with a record of expanding education, skills development and technology-based learning opportunities for PDLs, succeeds Jail Senior Superintendent John D. Montero as BJMP-6 regional director.
Her assumption of the post comes as the bureau continues to confront jail congestion, security, inmate welfare and reintegration concerns while ensuring the safe and humane custody of PDLs across Western Visayas.
BJMP-6 announced Rocamora’s assumption of regional leadership on Sept. 4, describing it as a new chapter in the bureau’s continuing commitment to “excellence, integrity, and dedication to public service.”
“Under her visionary leadership, BJMP Region 6 continues its commitment to excellence, integrity, and dedication to public service — guided by the mission of ‘Changing Lives, Building a Safer Nation,’” the bureau said in welcoming Rocamora.
Before her transfer to Western Visayas, Rocamora served as regional director of BJMP Region 5, where her leadership extended beyond custodial security to rehabilitation and development programs for PDLs.
She pushed partnerships with academic and government institutions to bring educational and development opportunities inside jail facilities.
Rocamora also led efforts to strengthen access to science and technology-based learning resources for PDLs. Among these was a partnership with the Department of Science and Technology-Bicol that provided digital learning resources intended for expansion across jail facilities in the region.
Rocamora was promoted to the rank of Jail Chief Superintendent in 2025 along with eight other senior BJMP officials. She was among the BJMP chief superintendents who paid a courtesy call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Malacañang Palace in May 2026 following their promotion.
She takes over from Montero, a longtime BJMP official who held several key assignments in Western Visayas before becoming regional director.
In 2018, Montero served as warden of the Iloilo District Jail-Male Dormitory with Special Intensive Care Area (SICA) in Pototan, Iloilo.
He was later relieved from the jail post during a regional reshuffling and reassigned as BJMP-6 regional chief of directorial staff while concurrently serving as provincial jail administrator of Guimaras. The reshuffling came amid an investigation into the discovery of mobile phones and an iPad inside the jail’s SICA.
Montero subsequently held other leadership positions before eventually becoming BJMP-6 regional director.
Rocamora is now expected to strengthen BJMP-6’s mandate of providing safe custody and humane treatment of PDLs while advancing rehabilitation and development programs throughout Western Visayas.
The BJMP, established under Republic Act 6975 in 1991, administers and manages district, city and municipal jails, with responsibility for the safekeeping and development of PDLs./PN
