File photo of a jail facility in Quezon City under the supervision of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP). INQUIRER PHOTO /NINO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has reported that 40,875 inmates or persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) who are detained in various detention facilities of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
According to the DILG, the vaccinated inmates compose 33 percent of the 123,499 PDLs in BJMP jail facilities who are fully immunized against the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, 75,970 or 61.5 percent of PDLs have received their first dose.
“Protecting the PDLs through vaccination is at the heart of the BJMP mandate to safe keep and ensure their welfare. We remain committed to this with more than 60% of the PDL population already given their first dose of COVID-19 jabs,” Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in a statement.
“As part of our commitment, we will not stop until all the PDLs detained in BJMP-supervised jails have been fully vaccinated,” he added.
The BJMP has administered 116,845 vaccine doses to PDLs in 472 district, city, and municipal jails across the country as of October 20, DILG said.
The Cordillera Administrative Region has the highest number of fully immunized PDLs with 98.28 percent, followed by Northern Mindanao with 55.73 percent, and Bicol Region with 50.46 percent.
Año likewise noted that 15,311 or 81.44 percent of the 18,801 BJMP personnel are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 while 15,883 or 84.48 percent got their first dose.
The DILG and BJMP are in constant coordination with the Department of Health and local government units (LGUs) for the COVID-19 vaccine shot allocation for PDLs, Año said.
“With the increased supply of vaccines, LGUs can now provide more vaccines to jails in their jurisdiction so we can now complete the vaccination of our PDLs and BJMP personnel,” the DILG chief said.
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