4 jails in NegOcc found clear of illegal drugs

BACOLOD CITY – Four jail facilities in Negros Occidental were cleared of illegal drugs based on the series of search and seizure operations conducted by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) earlier this week.

The PDEA-Negros Occidental said in a report on Thursday that “no drug was seized or detected during the tight greyhound operations” initiated at the Metro Bacolod District Jail Male Dormitory Annex in Bacolod City, Talisay City Jail, Silay City Jail, and Victorias City Jail as part of the province-wide jail cleansing.

During the operations, the PDEA personnel also conducted random drug tests among 289 inmates or Persons Deprived of Liberty, who all tested negative for drug use.

In Bacolod, 172 out of 860 inmates were found negative along with 23 out of 116 inmates in Talisay. Also, 53 out of the 267 inmates in Silay passed the drug test, as well as 41 out of the 207 in Victorias.

The conduct of regular drug-clearing operations in all city and municipal jails is based on the memorandum of agreement (MOA) established between the PDEA and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

The MOA stated that PDEA and the BJMP will conduct jail drug-clearing operations in accordance with the agreed operational strategy of both parties, which also agreed to classify the jails to determine which ones should be subjected to immediate drug-clearing operations. (PNA)