New BJMP acting chief Ruel Rivera assumes post

MANILA, Philippines — Jail Chief Superintendent Ruel Silva Rivera on Tuesday assumed his post as the acting chief of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

According to the BJMP, Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. presided over the command turnover, which was held on Monday afternoon in Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Rivera is succeeding Chief Jail Director Allan Iral, who is set to step down from service in June.

The BJMP said Rivera is expected to continue working on the agency’s Journey for Advancement, Innovation, and Long-term Development Plan 2040 where the bureau aims to become a “world-class agency highly capable of providing humane safekeeping and developmental opportunities for Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL).”

He is also expected to continue the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s “Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan” (BIDA) Program and the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s administration.

Rivera is a member of the Philippine National Police Academy Patnubay Class of 1995 where he obtained his degree in public safety.

He has been in public service for the past 28 years, starting as a warden of municipal, city, and district jails and later becoming the steward of Manila City Jail in 2011.

In his stint in the Manila City Jail, the BJMP said “he introduced the concept of PDL records digitization and pioneered the e-Dalaw System, the first electronic visitation system which enabled families and friends of PDLs to converse with their detained relatives via digital means.”

Rivera also held other positions as a staff officer, regional chief of directorial staff, and assistant regional director and then, as regional director of BJMP-MIMAROPA from 2013 to 2014.

He later held different posts at the BJMP’s Command Group, the decision-making body of the jail bureau.

During the ceremony, Abalos expressed his vote of confidence for Rivera, who he said is competent to lead the BJMP.

He also urged Rivera to continue strengthening the rehabilitation programs of the bureau, especially for PDLs who are facing drug charges.

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