Director Serafin Barretto Jr., BJMP chief (Photo from his Facebook page)
Spouses or common law partners of jail inmates may avail of benefits provided by the Solo Parents’ Welfare Act of 2000.
The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) has launched an information and legal support program in its 466 detention facilities nationwide to help facilitate the grant of benefits and privileges due to inmates’ families.
According to Director Serafin Barretto Jr., BJMP chief, not everyone knows that spouses of inmates are entitled to benefits under the Solo Parent Act, which provides for the grant of support to both the partners of detainees and their children.
“There is a law already which we could utilize to help them,” he said. “We want to make sure that they know it.”
Under the Solo Parent Act, a parent left alone with the responsibility of parenthood while the spouse is detained or serving a sentence for a criminal conviction of at least one year is entitled to benefits.
Assistance may also be given to their children who are not more than 18 years old, unmarried, unemployed, and are dependent on the solo parent. Children over 18 years old but are incapable of self-support due to disability are still covered by the grant.
The BJMP, Barretto said, woulde conduct an information drive and legal consultation among inmates and their spouses or common law partners.
He said that all jail wardens had been tasked with issuing certificates of detention and endorse the inmates’ spouses to the local social welfare and development office to enable them to receive benefits due them under the law.
Barretto said that the benefits provided under the Solo Parent Act would be terminated once the inmate was no longer detained.
“We want to ensure that inmates’ spouses are never alone in their struggles on raising their children,” he said. “This is one of the serious efforts of the BJMP to assist our detainees while extending them a hand to support their efforts for their children.” /atm