Jails in 15 ‘priority provinces’ placed under Comelec control

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has approved the request of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to place provincial jails in 15 “priority provinces” under the poll body’s control.

In a resolution last Thursday, Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. approved the recommendation of DILG Secretary Mar Roxas, in a letter dated May 6, for the Comelec to take full control of the provincial jails in the 15 provinces.

Roxas said the request was prompted by police intelligence reports about numerous instances where inmates were released during the election period – in violation of the Omnibus Election Code – to serve as private armies of unscrupulous individuals.

“In fact, in the province of Masbate alone, we are reminded of the 1989 killing of Masbate City Mayor Espinosa Jr. which, based on intelligence reports, was perpetrated by inmates and jail officers from the Masbate provincial jail,” Roxas said.

Intelligence reports also showed that the 1991 murder of Masbate congressman Jolly Fernandez was perpetrated by an inmate of the provincial jail, too, he added.

To prevent inmates, particularly in the 15 priority provinces, are not used by unscrupulous politicians, Roxas said there is a pressing need to have these provincial jails placed under Comelec control and guarded by wardens and jail guards of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) for the remaining days of the election period. 

The 15 priority provinces are Abra, Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Cagayan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Cavite, Masbate, Samar, Misamis Occidental, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, and Basilan.

In the resolution, Brillantes said the Comelec would direct the BJMP to exercise supervision and control of these provincial jails with the assistance of the Philippine National Police, if necessary.

Roxas said the DILG and PNP identified the 15 priority provinces based on the presence of private armies and criminal groups, intense rivalries between political camps, the volume of loose firearms and the quantity of guns with expired licenses in these areas.