LUCENA CITY —The planned takeover by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) of the Quezon Provincial Jail (QPJ) here has met a snag.
At the regular session of the Sangguniang Panglalawigan (SP) Monday, SP member Romano Talaga tried to shepherd the report of the Committee on Laws he heads for SP approval, but Quezon Vice Gov. Vicente “Kulit” Alcala and provincial board member Ferdinand Talabong blocked the move.
Gov. David “Jayjay” Suarez has earlier expressed support for the transfer.
“Has the report taken into consideration all the parties to be affected by the takeover especially the QPJ guards? Would not their job security be affected in the process?” asked Alcala, also SP presiding officer, who said that there were QPJ employees who approached him and expressed their concerns on the issue.
Talaga assured Alcala that the concerned parties were heard at the public hearing conducted by his committee and that a transition period of two years is provided by the draft memorandum of agreement during which the QPJ employees will still be under the provincial government and whose employment will be evaluated by the BJMP.
Talabong, a lawyer, also expressed concern for the “hasty SP approval” of Talaga’s committee report and supported Alcala, saying seven jail guards have also approached him for fear of losing their job once the takeover takes effect.
He also noted that the provincial warden was absent during the committee hearing.
During Talaga’s committee report, he traded heated words with Alcala over the latter’s claim that the QPJ guards had a written complaint regarding the proposed BJMP takeover.
At one point Talaga, a Suarez ally, asked Alcala to show the alleged complaint to the entire body, but the latter stood his ground, saying that as presiding officer it should be Talaga who should first show what he has.
“Huwag naman dito, ang daming tao,” Talaga jokingly said to which Alcala retorted, “Bastos.”
Cooler heads like SP members Alona Obispo and Gary Estrada intervened on the controversial issue and a five-minute break ensued.
Summoned to the SP session hall, BJMP Quezon District Jail Warden Chief Insp. Bermar Adlaon told SP members that Local Government Sec. Jesse Robredo has a directive to BJMP for the turnover of the provincial jails to make their management and operation more efficient and effective for the inmates.
To date, some 20 provincial jails have already been taken over by the BJMP nationwide and that five provincial jails are in the pipeline for BJMP takeover including provincial jails in Catanduanes, Sarangani and Quezon.
Alcala asked if the BJMP takeover of provincial jails is compulsory or discretionary and asked Adlaon for a copy of Robredo’s directive on the matter.
The session ended with the SP giving the affected QPJ guards one week to write down their concerns for inclusion to the SP committee report before the SP decides to approve the draft MOA to be signed by Suarez.
Brenda Marino Pacoma, a municipal female jail guard in Carmona, Cavite who used to come to Talipan District Jail here, said that the national government’s move to transfer management and operation from provincial jails to BJMP would be “beneficial” as the jail bureau in Region 4 needs many provincial and municipal jail guards who would be absorbed by the BJMP.
