PDEA, BJMP to heighten drug clearing ops in W. Visayas jails

By Jennifer P. Rendon

 

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-6 and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)-6 agreed on intensifying their drug clearing efforts in BJMP-ran facilities all over Western Visayas.

Jail Senior Superintendent Baby Noel Montalvo, BJMP-6 regional director, and Edgar Apalla, PDEA-6 chief, met on July 28, 2020 to discuss the full implementation of the drug clearing operations in the region’s facilities.

Ma. Graziella Tanaleon, PDEA-6 spokesperson, said the discussion also touched on how to sustain the status of facilities, which were earlier declared drug-cleared by the Regional Oversight Committee.

It is to be expected that greyhound operations in jail facilities, as well as the conduct of random/mandatory drug tests, will be intensified as part of their campaign to achieve drug cleared BJMP facilities.

BJMP-6 and PDEA-6 have temporarily shelved the said activities as the country is battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We had it suspended for several months in order to ensure the health and safety of everyone,” Tanaleon said.

However, both offices have already foreseen the resumption of deliberations the soonest possible time.

During the BJMP anniversary, Montalvo cited jail personnel for conducting 6,539 greyhound operations.

These led to confiscation of 19,816 contrabands in the jail units.

Further, 28  of the 38 jails in the region were already certified by the ROC, which is chaired by the PDEA, as drug cleared jail facilities.