BAGUIO CITY — The Baguio City Jail Female Dorm (BCJFD) will do a regular random drug testing among the residents of the jail facility, the warden said on Thursday.
BCJFD warden Senior Inspector April Rose Ayangwa told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) the random drug test was requested by the facility’s service providers in their meeting recently.
The administration of the facility, which is under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), holds a quarterly summit with the service providers or the government agencies, non-government organizations, faith-based groups, and individuals, who help in the rehabilitation and reformation of the residents, also called Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL).
During each summit, the administration presents its plans and programs for the upcoming quarter, while the service providers commit to handle or implement an activity.
“We just finished our quarterly summit with our service providers and they suggested that we will be incorporating random drug test in all of our activities,” Ayangwa said. “Not only that they want to know if our inmates are really free from illegal drugs, but also to see their sincerity to change for the better.”
The BCJFD now has 95 inmates, 53 of them charged with violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Ayangwa said the jail facility would be spending at least PHP1,500 for the random drug testing. The funding would come from the proceeds of the commissary, she added.
Early this year, 20 female dorm residents, together with the staff and personnel of BCJFD, underwent a random drug test. All of them posted negative for illegal substance use.
Ayangwa said aside from the unscheduled drug testing, a seminar on the ill effects of illegal drug use and other “surprises” would be conducted.
The BCJFD also conducts a regular “greyhound” or thorough inspection in the inmates’ cells to see if there is any contraband or other prohibited items.
Programs and activities on health, food, safety, education, livelihood, religion, and recreation are also lined up for the inmates’ well-being. (Dionisio Dennis, Jr./PNA)
