• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A one-hectare property will be allocated by the city government for the new site of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) male facility in Barangay Granada.
The current Metro Bacolod District Jail-Male Dormitory, located in Barangay Singcang-Airport inside the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) compound, is supposed to be 300-capacity jail, but is now being occupied by almost 700 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).
On Saturday, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, together with Singcang-Airport village chief Caesar Distrito, visited the facility and saw the crowded situation of the inmates amid the scorching heat.
The BJMP officials informed Benitez that the property occupied by the jail belongs to the BCPO.
“PDLs are humans also that deserve a humane treatment, and should be entitled to a liveable condition. They are innocent individuals until they are convicted, but their present state inside the jail is degrading and pitiful,” Benitez said.
At the new and bigger location, the PDLs will also have enough space for gardening and other livelihood activities, Distrito said. | GB
