CALAMBA CITY, Laguna (PIA) -- The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) on Tuesday warned people visiting persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) detained in BJMP-administered detention facilities not to attempt to sneak in contraband such as weapons and illegal drugs or they risk getting prosecuted.
“[BJMP] will not tolerate such actions, and we will continue to instill in the persons deprived of liberty and their visitors the gravity of our commitment to implementing programs aimed at preventing the proliferation of contrabands and the devastating effects of smuggling within our jail facilities.” said Jail Chief Inspector Hilbert Flor, Regional Director of BJMP.
Flor made the statement after jail personnel together with personnel from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection and other allied security personnel conducted Greyhound operations in the regional jail facility.
The director also said that they have enacted stricter guidelines for families and other visitors of PDLs to ensure that contrabands are not being illegally brought inside correctional facilities.
“We strictly implement searches as soon as our visitors enter the gate. We have searchers there, and we rigorously look into their belongings, food, and inspect the clothes of our visitors. There are cases where they also use their children as instruments to conceal illegal contrabands in their clothes or on the bodies of small children. All of these are being studied and examined by our jail personnel," Flor said.
Through Greyhound Operations, BJMP IV-A has confiscated 137 mobile phones, 100 sim cards, two memory cards, over 310 packs of cigarettes from 2019 to 2022. The said items were destroyed in a ceremony on October 24 at the BJMP IV-A Regional Office in Calamba City, Laguna, as part of the bureau’s celebration of National Correctional Consciousness Week (NACOCOW).
BJMP IV-A officials and personnel destroyed 137 mobile phones, 100 sim cards, two memory cards, over 310 packs of cigarettes which were confiscated from 2019 to 2022, during the celebration of the National Correctional Consciousness Week (NACOCOW). (Christopher Hedreyda, PIA-Laguna)
Once confiscated, items are being analyzed and assessed if these can be used as an additional criminal charge for an inmate.
According to BJMP, PDLs caught in possession of prohibited items is a grave offense and will face sanctions imposed by its Disciplinary Board, such as temporary cancellation of all or some recreational privileges, suspension of visitation privileges, close confinement and monitoring, and/or transfer to another BJMP facility in coordination with the Court.
JCINSP Flor then gives a stern warning to PDLs and their families to yield the smuggling of items as they may be charged as accomplices and may face charges or hefty fines.
“Sa mga PDL natin, gayundin sa pamilya ng mga PDL at bibisita ay huwag na nating hikayatin pa ang ating mga mahal sa buhay na magdala ng mga ilegal na bagay o kontrabando sa loob ng mga kulungan o piitan. Sapagkat ito ay magdudulot lamang ng kapahamakan at hindi magandang kinabukasan sa ating mga PDL at mga pamilyang bibisita. Kung ito ay mahuhuli, magkakasama pa sila sa loob ng bilangguan at magiging mahirap ang kanilang pamumuhay.” (CH/PIA-Laguna)
