‘Overstaying detainees’ eating (literally) into cops’ budget

A CONGESTED cell under the Manila Police District inquirer FILE PHOTO

The arrest of crime suspects is considered an accomplishment for the police, but it can be a burden when they overstay in detention and entail additional expenses for local precincts and stations.

This was pointed out by a Philippine National Police official, who said the PNP ends up spending about P106 million a year feeding detainees who should already be in the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP). This expenditure, he said, is not officially listed in the annual PNP budget.

PNP Human Rights Affairs Office head Chief Supt. Dennis Siervo explained that police custodial facilities are not meant for long-staying detainees. Ideally, they should only stay there for a maximum of 36 hours after their arrest, or turned over to the BJMP after inquest proceedings, he added.

But in practice, this process is usually marred by delays as the police wait for a commitment order from the court before being allowed to transfer the detainees to the BJMP, Siervo said in a press briefing last week at Camp Crame.

“The focus of the PNP is anticriminality, not custodial management. But as of Dec 31, 2015, there are 1,980 (people) under custody of the PNP nationwide,’’ he said. In accordance with human rights, “we need to give them meals thrice a day.”

“That would take around P300,000 a day. In one year, that would take P106 million, approximately. Where will we get the budget for food alone?” the official said.

The budget for the detainees’ food end up being drawn from a police station’s fund for monthly operating expenses or, worse, from the pockets of the police commanders themselves, he added.

“In municipal police stations, they’re already trying to make both ends meet. This is not included in their budget. They do well with arrests, they have a good anticriminality campaign, but this remains a problem.”

The problem is compounded by overcrowding. A recent inspection showed many detention quarters holding twice or thrice their intended capacity. “Here in Metro Manila, we’ve seen facilities designed only for 20 people but holds 60, designed for 80 but holds 200. The detainees can’t even lie down; some sleep on hammocks set up high near the ceiling.”

Siervo said his office had asked Sen. Koko Pimentel, who earlier conducted an inquiry into overcrowded jails, to revisit the problem, and  also the Department of Justice and the courts to look for ways how commitment orders could be issued faster.