File photo of a jail facility in Quezon City under the supervision of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP). (File photo by NINO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — After more than two years, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) has finally allowed the resumption of in-person visitation for inmates in jails under its jurisdiction in time for the celebration of Christmas.
Of the 477 jail facilities under the BJMP, only those with at least 85 percent of their personnel and inmates fully vaccinated against COVID-19, will implement in-person or contact visitation starting on Dec. 13.
Almost all of the more than 18,000 personnel of the BJMP have been fully vaccinated since April. Meanwhile, 97.13 percent or 122,814 of the 126,440 persons deprived of liberty (PDL) have been fully inoculated as of Friday.
BJMP Jail Director Allan Iral said in a statement that they resumed personal visits as an early Christmas gift to inmates and their families.
In Metro Manila, BJMP-NCR Regional Director Jail Chief Supt. Efren Nemeño recently confirmed that all 39 jails are now ready for the resumption of contact visitation.
“While we are mindful of the influx of visitors this season, we are also ensuring the operational readiness of our jail facilities particularly their management plan and security protocols during the holiday season,” Nemeño said.
During contact visits, family members are allowed to hold the hands of the inmates and touch each other’s faces.
On March 20, 2020, the BJMP implemented the absolute lockdown of all its jail facilities nationwide.
Since the easing of jail lockdowns two years later on April 20, 2022, jail visits have been allowed but limited to “no contact visitation,” where inmates can receive visitors separated by a physical barrier, usually plastic acetate sheets.
According to BJMP, visitation hours on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., while on Saturdays and Sundays it will be from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and will resume from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.Mondays and Fridays, however, are reserved for inmates’ washday and sanitation of the entire jail facility.
Only essential items such as medicine and special dietary requirements can be brought to the facility by the families of the PDL, subject to usual search procedures and security protocols. Other modes of visitation, such online interactions, remain available.
Considering the congestion rate in the majority of BJMP jail facilities, only 25 percent of the total inmate population of a jail facility will be allowed to avail of in-person visitation in a day.
Only immediate family members will be allowed to visit physically, provided that their names are included in the approved visitor’s list and they previously scheduled their visit. Visitors who wish to avail of in-contact visitation must be fully vaccinated, preferably with a booster shot against COVID-19. Vaccine certificates must be presented prior to jail entry.
Nonvaccinated visitors may still enter the jail facility provided that they can show proof that they tested negative for the virus through an RT-PCR or antigen test taken 24 to 72 hours prior to entry.