DEPARTMENT of Interior and Local Government director for Region 10 Arnel Agabe today assured that all precautionary measures are in place to ensure that all the 4,456 inmates in Northern Mindanao are secured from Covid-19.
Agabe made the assurance after Cebu City Jail was locked down following Wednesday’s confirmation that 123 prisoners tested positive for the disease.
He said that all 24 jail facilities in Region 10 have been on lockdown since March 20 this year.
This, he said, was an agreement forged by the jail management and penology, police, and court officials to prevent direct contacts between the inmates and their visitors.
But Agabe said the wardens of city, provincial and municipal jails, either supervised by the BJMP or local governments, have provided “video chat” for inmates who wish to get to talk and see their family members and friends online.
Citing a report from assistant regional director Fermin Enriquez of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Agabe said that aside from the usual proper hygiene and sanitation, the mandatory wearing of face masks and physical distancing have been enforced inside the cells.
“This is not only for the PDLs but also for all BJMP personnel and not one of them showed symptoms of Covid-19,” Agabe said, adding that a “screening area” for all visitors to the warden’s office was designated in all jails. (Uriel C. Quilinguing)
