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Sunday, March 20, 2005
Security in provincial jails to be reviewed
PROVINCIAL prisons, which are not under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), shall be subjected to a thorough assessment of its procedures in the wake of the takeover and siege of the Metro Manila Rehabilitation Center (MMRC) in Bicutan, Taguig, Metro Manila, early last week.
This was announced by League of Provinces of the Philippines president and Bohol Governor Erico B. Aumentado, who said new measures to improve the management and operations of the country's provincial jails which are under the direct control of governors will be tackled during a meeting of the Governors' League after the Lenten season.
Aumentado, who is also national president of the 1.2 million-strong Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, said the evaluation of existing security procedures and the need to find ways to further improve operations of provincial jails is in line with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's directive for a thorough review of the country's penal system.
"It cannot be denied that in the past, jailbreaks and other disturbances have also occurred in jails not under the BJMP but those run by Provincial Governments. Unless measures are undertaken to improve security, the Bicutan incident might happen again," Aumentado said.
He said Abu Sayyaf members are also detained in jails other than those under the BJMP such as the Basilan provincial jail. "High-risk detainees in such provincial jails indeed pose a perennial threat and thus security measures must be improved," he added.
Aumentado said discussion among his colleagues in the upcoming assembly of provincial governors in Tagbilaran City in Bohol would focus on current operational systems and procedures in their jails particularly in the handling of inmates, including inventory of manpower, facilities and equipment.
The review of the situation in provincial jails comes shortly after the aborted escape by detained Abu Sayyaf members from MMRC and their takeover of the facility last Monday.
After a 29-hour standoff, the police assaulted the prison leaving 22 Abu Sayyaf members dead. A policeman was also killed in the operation. (Sunnex Luzon/PR)
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (March 20, 2005 issue)
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