Maguindanao jail inmates lack food as budget impasse remains unresolved

FILE PHOTO

COTABATO CITY — Some 128 inmates of Maguindanao del Norte provincial jail are feeling the pinch of the budget impasse facing the province at the start of the year.

In a letter to acting Gov. Bai Fatima Ainee Sinsuat, a copy of which the Inquirer obtained recently, jail warden Ato Dimananal said they “lack provision for the food of the inmates and they are already getting sick for lack of proper nourishment.”

Because of this, Dimananal asked Sinsuat to provide the jail with the funds needed for its operation. Dimananal said the release of the subsistence allowance of the inmates was urgent.

Lawyer Mohajiroe Lauban, Maguindanao del Norte provincial administrator, told the Inquirer they received the letter from Dimananal on Feb. 27.

Apart from food, Dimananal said he was worried that the jail’s water and electricity service connections would be cut off due to non-payment of its bills.

He further said that their transport vehicle was unserviceable, rendering them unable to bring inmates to their scheduled court hearings.

“Without these basic necessitates, we cannot expect to keep the safety and order of our provincial jail,” Dimananal said.

The jail, located in Barangay Rosary Heights in this city, houses inmates from Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur provinces. It is among the assets and facilities of the then-undivided Maguindanao province that went to Maguindanao del Norte.

Dimananal said they had been incurring debts for the jail’s operation since the start of the year “without even knowing how we can pay with this current situation.”

“Hindi naman pwedeng hindi sila kakain (It cannot be that they don’t eat), so in the meantime, I am using my own funds to procure food for the inmates,” Dimananal said. “But it cannot go on forever or for a long time.”

Delays

“I have no choice, it is my responsibility to take care of them,” he said.

When asked where he gets the funds from January to February, Dimananal said from his funds and quickly added: “This is temporary, mauubos din personal budget ko (my personal budget would get depleted).”

Dimananal suggested that the budget issue should be addressed immediately. “Basic services from the provincial government like food for the inmates should be exempted from delays,” he said. “We cannot tell the inmates, ‘hey you cannot eat in the meantime because there are delays in fund releases.’”

No treasurer

Although it has received its national tax allotment for January and February, the provincial government could not disburse the funds as it has no treasurer.

Apart from the governor, the treasurer is required as a signatory for fund disbursements.

The Department of Finance (DOF) has yet to appoint a treasurer for the province. Under the Local Government Code, the DOF Secretary appoints the local treasurer and assistant local treasurer “from a list of at least three ranking eligible recommendees” of the local chief executive.

In December 2022, Maguindanao del Norte had requested the DOF, through its Bureau of Local Government Finance, to designate the provincial treasurer of Maguindanao del Sur as their concurrent treasurer, Lauban had said.

Sinsuat assumed as acting governor of Maguindanao del Norte in October 2022, according to the results of a plebiscite in September favoring the split of Maguindanao into two provinces.

But the Bangsamoro regional government’s Ministry of the Interior and Local Government has not recognized the act.

Interior Minister Naguib Sinarimbo had said that Sinsuat needed to be appointed to the post by President Marcos.

(with a report from Ryan D. Rosauro)

RELATED STORIES

Governor, employees to Marcos: Fix Maguindanao del Norte budget impasse …

BARMM says it won’t recognize officials of new Maguindanao province

lzb