BJMP to provide assistance to 3 inmates who won BSKE

Inmates wait for their turn to get booster shots against COVID-19 in this file photo taken inside the BJMP-managed Angeles District Jail in Pampanga province. File photo / Angeles City government

MANILA, Philippines — Three inmates who won the October 30 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) will receive assistance from officials of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in performing their duties while in detention, according to spokesperson and Jail Chief Inspector Jayrex Bustinera.

“The BJMP will assist them in performing their functions within the confines of the jail. We are looking into virtual platforms, similar to their virtual visits (e-dalaw) and teleconference of hearings,” Bustinera told INQUIRER.net in a Viber message on Sunday.

“We will impose restraints on locomotion or actual physical movement, like all persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) in our custody. In the event that there is a pressing matter that the elected official must perform outside the jail, the necessary court order must be secured,” he added.

Aside from this, the BJMP official likewise assured that they will respect the candidates’ “mandate as an elected official” and that no preferential treatment will be given to them.

According to Bustinera, all three persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) winners are in Dasmariñas City Jail Male Dorm, Tanay Municipal Jail, and Cagayan de Oro City Jail Male Dorm custody with pending drug cases.

They ran in and won as village councilors in the Barangay Kay Buto in Tanay, Rizal; Barangay Datu Esmael in Dasmariñas, Cavite; and Barangay Ipunan in Cagayan de Oro City.

“Presently, we are coordinating with the Comelec (Commission on Elections) for their guidance on that matter,” Bustinera said.

Sought for comment, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said that they did not receive any disqualification cases filed against the three inmates.

“After po ng proclamation, DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) na po ang may jurisdiction. Wala po kami na receive na dq (disqualification cases) against sa kanila,” Garcia told INQUIRER.net also on Sunday.

(After the proclamation, DILG will have the jurisdiction. So far, we have not received any DQ cases filed against them.)

Last October 31, BJMP revealed that 26,268 of the 29,288 PDLs eligible to vote in the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections successfully participated in the October 30 polls.

READ: Abalos: No special treatment for newly elected inmates

Citing rules of the Commission on Elections, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. earlier explained that PDLs who are qualified to exercise their right to vote include those who are formally charged, inmates with pending trial, and those who are imprisoned for sentences of less than a year.

READ: BJMP: Over 26,000 PDLs exercised voting rights in barangay polls

He also emphasized that PDLs’ right to vote aligns with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Rights, and the 1987 Constitution.

In line with this, eight inmates, including the three who won, were likewise able to run during the recent elections.