THE Mandaue City Jail has been on “absolute lockdown” since Friday, March 20, 2020.
This means no one can enter and exit the facility, whether jail personnel or visitors, said Supt. Gil Inopia, Mandaue City Jail’s male dorm warden.
Inopia said the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Central Office in Manila had ordered a national prison lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) among detainees.
He said jail personnel are on standby outside the fence to run errands for their colleagues who are inside.
He said they will accept suspects nabbed by police as long the commitment order was signed last Friday.
“Lisod man sad kaayo nga naa nay court order ‘nya atong i-defy. ‘Nya, asa man na sila dalhon nga kompleto na man ilang papers (We can’t turn away an inmate, especially if his commitment papers are in order and there is a court order),” Inopia said.
The warden said they will meet with Mandaue City’s executive judge to discuss the “absolute lockdown.”
Meanwhile, Inopia said they’ve implemented “E-Dalaw,” which allows inmates to make supervised calls or video calls to relatives.
The Mandaue City Jail earlier suspended visiting privileges.
He said conversations are monitored and recorded.
“Ang atong personnel nga nag-search sa mga dalaw, karon nag-supervise sila sa tawag and video call (Jail personnel who used to search visitors are now in charge of supervising calls and video calls),” Inopia said.
E-Dalaw is available in jails under the BJMP. (KFD)