BAGUIO CITY— The regional anti illegal drugs oversight committee has declared the Baguio City Jail Female Dorm (BCJFD) as drug free and drug cleared jail facility.
“Pursuant to the regional oversight committee on declaring drug-cleared and drug-free jail facilities and after thorough assessment and validation pertinent to their compliance to the parameters as enumerated in the implementing rules on declaring drug-free and drug-cleared jail facilities effective May 29, 2018, the Bagiuo City Jail Female Dormitory (BCJFD) is hereby declared drug cleared/ drug free as of September 27,” said the certificate awarded to the jail warden during the flag raising ceremony at the Baguio city hall Monday.
“There is no monetary reward but the facility to be declared as “clean” napaka laking reputation para sa akin as a warden (its an honor to me as a warden),” Jail Senior Insp. April Rose Ayangwa said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
She said, “it is already rewarding for having complied with the order of President Duterte to have a drug free jail facility,” she added.
The regional oversight committee is composed of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Department of Health (DOH), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the city government.
The BCJFD which has an average population of 98 with 55 percent of the PDLs facing charges in relation to Republic Act 9165 or the anti illegal drugs law of 2002, is the first jail facility in the region to be declared as drug-clear and drug-free jail facility by the regional oversight committee.
Ayangwa said they were subjected to a regular monitoring coupled with spot inspections including random unannounced drug testing of personnel and their residents- the persons deprived of liberty (PDL) or commonly known as inmates.
“All personnel must be subjected to drug test including PDL for three months,” she said.
The PDEA conducts a regular monthly drug testing of all personnel and the PDLs aside from the random drug testing of the Anti illegal drug center of the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) done unannounced during the quarter.
Aside from the greyhound operation of the BCJFD personnel to look for contraband, a surprise greyhound operation with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is also conducted. “Galugad talaga mga yun (it is a thorough search),” she added and no illegal drugs or its paraphernalia must be found.
Also included in the parameters for declaring a jail facility drug-free and drug-cleared are conducts of intervention activities like lectures, symposium, film showing on the ill effects of illegal drugs as part of the jail-based intervention program.
“All your activities must be sustained to be able to be certified,” Ayangwa added.(Liza Agoot/PNA)
