Yamsuan backs BJMP’s call for hike in food, medical allowance of PDLs

Bicol Saro Partylist Representative Brian Raymund Yamsuan has supported the appeal of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) for an increase in the food and medical allowance of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) under the proposed 2025 national budget.

Yamsuan said the current P70 daily budget for food and the P15 per day for medicines of each PDL under the BJMP’s care is “grossly insufficient to fulfill their nutritional and health requirements.”

During the budget deliberations of the House Committee on Appropriations on the BJMP’s proposed 2025 budget, the bureau’s chief, Jail Director Ruel Rivera asked that the allowance be hiked to P100 for food and P30 for medicines.

“Tulad ng nasabi ko na noon, ano na lamang bang nutrisyon and makukuha mo sa 70 pesos para sa almusal, tanghalian at hapunan? Even NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) has acknowledged that the P64 a day it computed to assess a person’s food poverty threshold was already based on old numbers, and therefore, outdated, given the changes in our economy. Kulang na kulang na kahit ang P70 a day sa presyo pa lamang ng bigas ngayon,” said Yamsuan, a former Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“The same goes for their medical allowance. Kapag pinabayaan natin ang kalusugan ng mga PDLs, madaling kakalat ang sakit sa loob ng mga detention facilities. PDL health is public health. PDLs interact with prison staff, and will eventually be released. If they remain sick and untreated, they could pose serious risks to public health,” he added.

Yamsuan said the BJMP’s call has also gained the support of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), which pointed out the need “to ensure humane conditions and adequate resources for the reformation of our PDLs, as well as to treat them with dignity and respect.”

A staunch advocate of prison reform, Yamsuan said resources for the food and medicines of PDLs can be streamlined and better allocated if his proposed measure creating a Department of Corrections and Jail Management (DCJM) would be acted on during the Congress’ third and final session.

Yamsuan said that with overpopulated jails, the measly medical allowance of P15 per day for each PDL and the lack of health professionals to treat them contribute to poor health conditions inside BJMP’s detention facilities.

Based on available BJMP data, there are only 16 medical officers and 3 psychiatrists to provide health care services to PDLs locked up in district, municipal and city jails across the country, Yamsuan said.

Yamsuan’s measure—House Bill 8672–aims to unify the fragmented correctional system by placing under a single department the BJMP of the DILG; the correctional and jail services of the provincial governments; and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP); and the Parole and Probation Administration (PPA), which are currently all under the DOJ.

The lawmaker said the bill aims to transform the country’s penal and detention facilities from being “breeding grounds of despair and recidivism,” into “places of rehabilitation and transformation” by centralizing the management of, and streamlining budget allocation for, the corrections, jail management and probations systems.