P14.2 billion needed to build more jail facilities

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) needs about P14.2 billion and the help of local government units (LGUs) to build additional jails and address congestion, which was recently flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA).

Of the 470 jail facilities nationwide, 350 are congested, with a total population of 121,895 or a congestion rate of 397 percent, BJMP spokesman Xavier Solda said in a press briefing yesterday.

The BJMP needs the LGUs in identifying properties where the additional jails will be constructed.

With the high number of inmates, a majority of them drug suspects, Solda said the BJMP needs additional facilities to accommodate more inmates in less cramped sites.

“If we will be building more facilities for the BJMP, we need a big budget,” Solda said as he estimated that about P14.2 billion would be needed to cover the cost of the construction of new cells alone rather than entirely new facilities.

The current space allotted for a jail facility is more than 100,000 square meters or about 472,000 sqm short of the ideal allotted space, considering the high number of inmates.

The COA earlier flagged the congestion rates in BJMP facilities nationwide, noting how the agency exceeded the ideal capacity by 403 percent last year.

State auditors said the current jail population is about 80,000 over the ideal population. They said the most congested jails are in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) with 619 percent, Central Luzon with 609 percent and Metro Manila with 595 percent.

Solda said among the most congested jails are the San Mateo Municipal Jail with a 2,648-percent congestion rate, Dasmariñas City Jail with 2,139 percent and Cainta Municipal Jail with 2,072 percent.