Solon wants increase in daily subsistence allowance of inmates

MANILA, Philippines – A lawmaker is seeking to increase the subsistence allowance for prisoners to provide them with adequate and decent meals.

House Bill 6124 authored by Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo proposes to adjust and raise the cost of daily subsistence allowance of prisoners in a local jail from P50 to P100.

Aside from allowance augmentation, HB 6124 also seeks to tie up between the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and Local Government Units (LGUs) for the establishment of secondary jails to decongest local prisons.

In his proposal, Castelo cited the 2011 report of the Department of Interior and Local Government showing local jails are congested by an average of 400 percent .

"The Manila City Jail, to cite an example, was built only for 1,000 inmates but had 5,300 in that year. Muntinlupa was about 500 percent over its normal capacity," Castelo said.

The Quezon City Rep. noted that overcrowding of inmates results to inadequate sleeping spaces and toilet facilities.

"Thus, there results a health and welfare issues to be addressed since these inhumane conditions of our local jails are crying out for reform, not least because only the poor and the powerless seem to be at the receiving end of such bureaucratic failure," Castelo said.

Under the HB 6124, individuals or persons in the jail shall be considered constituents of the LGUs thus becoming part of the community or public that the LGUs serve. With this provision, the LGUs are given the initiative and motivation to complement the BJMP.

Castelo said the provisions of the bill shall be supported by the national budget upon the measure’s approval and every year after.

HB 6124 also mandates that the concerned LGU may cause a certain percent of its Internal Revenue Allotment to help build secondary jails within its territorial jurisdiction.

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