ILOILO City – Twenty-eight of the 37 prison facilities in Western Visayas have been declared drug-free, according to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Region 6.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) made the assessment.
BJMP-6 is hopeful that the remaining nine jails would be declared drug-free as well before this year is over, according to Jail Superintendent Gilbert Peremne, BJMP deputy regional director for administration.
“It is not easy to declare a jail facility drug-free. The process is long. There are parameters to meet,” said Peremne.
No illegal drugs must be recovered during unannounced jail inspections of PDEA and allied forces from the uniformed service such as the Philippine National Police, he stressed.
Also, the jail’s staff must be consistently active in its community’s antidrug campaign, said Peremne.
On top of this, the jail warden and jail guards must undergo and pass PDEA-facilitated drug tests every three months, he added.
“The jail cleansing process starts with our personnel,” said Peremne.
In a related development, the male dormitory of the Iloilo City District Jail in Barangay Ungka, Jaro district is poised for a drug-free declaration, according to its warden, Jail Superintendent Mary Chanette Espartero.
The prison facility had been subjected to “surprise” inspections already, said Espartero, and all her personnel hurdled drug tests.
In random drug tests, inmates also tested negative for illegal drugs, added Espartero.
“We are hoping that this time we will get a drug-free certification from PDEA,” said Espartero./PN
