CEBU, Philippines — Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia is amenable to the idea of letting the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) run provincial jails.
“I had a different take on that before, in my previous terms, but karon, if they want, go ahead. It’s one less headache for me, actually. They want? Go ahead but they should know what laws to amend,” Garcia told reporters.
To note, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa is pushing Senate Bill No. 1100 that aims to transfer control over and management of provincial and sub-provincial jails to the BJMP.
The proposal earned the support of the Commission on Human Rights and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
In the country, 13 of the 74 provincial jails are being run by the BJMP by virtue of a memorandum of agreement. The rest are run by the local governments.
In Cebu, for instance, the Capitol is the one managing the affairs of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center.
Garcia said that for the proposed change to take effect, the law must be amended.
The CHR has described the bill of Dela Rosa as a need so that the policies and guidelines governing the administration and management of jails will be standardized. JMD (FREEMAN)