Taguig to build new city jail in PNP camp

The Taguig City government has allocated P15-million for the construction of a new city jail in Camp Bagong Diwa.

Taguig Mayor Sigfrido Tiñga said Taguig inmates will no longer have to suffer in cramped detention cells after he recently signed a memorandum of agreement with Bureau of Jail Management and Penelogy (BJMP) chief Rosendo Dial for the construction of a new prison facility.

“Not only will the construction of this new facility ensure peace, order and safety in our community by keeping the inmates in a secure and secluded place, but will also ensure humane living conditions for them,” Tinga said.

The new Taguig City Jail will be constructed on a 1,000-square meter patch of land in the northernmost part of the Philippine National Police camp.

Under the agreement, the city government shall shoulder the initial structural construction cost amounting to P15-million while the BJMP will shoulder the remaining expenses to finish the building. The construction will start before the end of the year.

The agreement also stipulates that the city government will allocate P30,000 monthly to support the utility bills of the new Taguig City Jail.

According to BJMP-Taguig warden Superintendent Jaime Amatiaga, the proposed structure will be a four-story building with at least 24 detention cells. It will be big enough to hold up to 1,500 inmates.

He said the new facility’s perimeter will be highly secured, “where a jailbreak attempt can be regarded as committing suicide.”

The current Taguig City Jail is located behind the Taguig Justice Hall along Gen. Santos Avenue in Barangay Upper Bicutan. The jail currently holds more than 680 inmates.

The city government also bared plans to transform the old city jail into an annex of the Pamantasang Lungsod ng Taguig campus. – Rhodina Villanueva