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[av_heading heading=’Wary of drug smugglers, BJMP limits jail visits’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY RESEL JOY TIANERO
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Sunday, February 26, 2017
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ILOILO City – The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) is limiting jail visits for security reasons.
A family may visit a jailed relative only twice a week and for only an hour for each visit.
“All jails across the country were given this instruction on Jan. 27 during our national conference with the BJMP national director, Chief Superintendent Serafin Barreto Jr.,” said BJMP Region 6 director Rex Delarmente.
He, however, clarified that this new policy is flexible. Jail wardens have the discretion to adjust the frequency and length of visits, taking into consideration the prevailing situation in prison facilities.
For example, if the jail is already too crowded with visitors in a particular day, the incoming ones may be turned away, said Delarmente.
All jail guards were also ordered to be more thorough in inspecting visitors. Of particular concern to the BJMP is the smuggling of contrabands into jails such as illegal drugs and deadly weapons, and even mobile phones that may be used for illegal transactions.
Two weeks before the BJMP came out with the new policy on jail visits, six sachets of shabu were seized from a woman visiting her jailed partner here. Jail Officer 1 Mary Grace Sta. Ana identified the woman as 36-year-old Jona Escarilla of Barangay Tanza Esperanza, City Proper.
The sachets were wrapped in tissue paper and sealed with tape. These were recovered in Escarilla’s black bag on Jan. 13.
Escarilla was arrested. She was visiting Meljoy Tan who was charged with robbery.
Escarilla denied owning the sachets. She claimed a woman asked her to carry the tissue paper in the jail.
If the suspect were to be believed, the woman further told her someone in the jail will get the issue paper from her.
Escarilla, however, failed to identify the woman.
Delarmente said all visitors will be inspected in a room designed for this. If the jail does not have an inspection room, the checking may be done in the comfort room, he said.
“A male jail guard will inspect male visitors while female guards will check female visitors,” said Delarmente.
The inspection will be from head to foot. Delartmente said some enterprising female drug couriers would conceal sachets of shabu in their genitalia.
Just this Jan. 24 in Bacolod City, a woman visiting her jailed live-in partner at the Handumanan District Jail was caught sneaking in a sachet of shabu.
The 22-year-old Darlene Esporas Silva concealed the sachet behind three strips of adhesive bandages.
While undergoing inspection at the entrance of the jail, a lady guard asked Silva about her adhesive bandages.
Silva claimed she had a wound but the lady guard was not convinced and told her to open them.
The suspect hesitated and this made the lady guard suspicious.
Silva, a resident of Barangay Mambulac, Silay City, was compelled to open the adhesive bandages and the sachet of shabu was uncovered.
Silva was arrested./PN
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