BJMP jails, not BuCor, for PDLs until Aug. 31

MANILA, Philippines — From Wednesday until Aug. 31, all convicted persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) should remain inside detention quarters of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) instead of being transferred to the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), Court Administrator Midas Marquez said.

The Supreme Court order, a response to a request by BuCor chief Gerald Bantag, was meant “to prevent the further contamination of COVID-19 among (PDLs).”

The high court earlier allowed those arrested from July 21 until Aug. 31 to be detained in local police units instead of BJMP jails. As of June 11, the BJMP reported that six have died out of 745 PDLs positive for the virus, with 125 jail personnel also infected.

—Dona Z. Pazzibugan

Read more...