Quezon City turns over new jail facility to BJMP

MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon City government yesterday turned over a new detention facility in Barangay Payatas to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

Mayor Joy Belmonte led the ceremonial turnover and blessing of the facility on Payatas Road, which can accommodate at least 4,400 persons deprived of liberty or PDLs.

“The Quezon City Jail will be the BJMP’s showcase as an outstanding jail facility here in the Philippines,” she said.

The new detention facility is expected to ease congestion at the old Quezon City Jail dormitory at the corner of EDSA and Kamuning Road, which has a jail population of 3,530 – way above its ideal capacity of 262 inmates or a congestion rate of about 1,247 percent.

The jail, which sits on a 2.4-hectare lot donated by the city government, was constructed on a budget of P1.39 billion. The city government contributed P39 million for the first phase of the perimeter fence.

In a statement, Quezon City Jail warden Superintendent Michelle Bonto said Phase 2 of the perimeter fence has a budget of around P100 million.

Belmonte said a congestion rate of over 1,200 percent in a jail is inhumane and unacceptable.

She said she urged then mayor Herbert Bautista, now a senatorial candidate, to fund the construction of the jail for him to leave a legacy in the city.

“Mayor Herbert didn’t listen. He had other plans for those funds,” she said.

Bonto said the new jail has three buildings with 440 cells, each with an area of 47 square meters for 10 inmates.

“Each cell is provided with adequate water, entry of light and air as per the standard requirement of the International Committee of the Red Cross,” she said in a statement.