BJMP-8 upgrades 10 jails, to build two more jails

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — A total of ten jails in Eastern Visayas is being upgraded by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-Region 8, while two more jails are being constructed.

Senior Superintendent Hernan Grande, BJMP-8 regional director, told reporters that a P500,000 budget was set aside for the upgrading of the Calbayog City jail in Samar where the 16 inmates bolted last April 2.

The Calbayog City jailbreak served as an eye opener for BJMP-8 of the need to improve the conditions of the jails in Eastern Visayas.

Grande said the jail in Calbayog City that has no secondary perimeter fence, making it easy for the escape of the 16 of 87 inmates. The fund for the upgrading of the jail was intended for the construction of the secondary perimeter fence to prevent the recurrence of such incident.

In Leyte province, Grande said funds were also allotted for the upgrading of eight jails, the biggest of which is P6 million for Tacloban City Jail. Others were P600,000 for the Ormoc City jail; P500,000 for Carigara town jail; P250,000 each for Alang-alang town jail and Baybay City jail; P200,000 for Palo town jail; and P60,000 each for the jails in Dulag and Tanauan towns.

Grande said the 10th jail to be upgraded is in Dolores town of Eastern Samar, with an allocation of P200,000.

He added that, to decongest some of the jails in the region, BJMP-8 is constructing two more jails, one in Guiuan town of Eastern Samar, with a P7-million budget, and another in Burauen town of Leyte, with a budget of P2 million.