THE Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) appealed to the House of Representatives for a higher 2025 budget for the food and medicine of inmates.
A presentation by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) before the House Committee on Appropriations showed that the subsistence allowance for 182,556 inmates will cost P4.664 billion at P70 per inmate daily.
Allocation for medicine allowance for inmates will cost P999.494 million at P15 per inmate daily.
BJMP Jail Director Ruel Rivera. PHOTOS BY JOHN ORVEN VERDOTE
BJMP Jail Director Ruel Rivera suggested that the subsistence allowance be raised from P70 to P100.
“I hope and pray that all of you here would support our effort to alleviate the suffering of our incarcerated compatriots,” Rivera said in Filipino.
OFW Party-list Rep. Marissa Magsino made a similar request to increase the food allowance of inmates.
The 2025 budget for the DILG in the National Expenditure Program totaled P281.32 billion, 6 percent higher than its 2024 budget of P265.51 billion.
Of the amount, P29.2 billion was allocated for the BJMP, higher than the P23.87 billion it received in 2024.
The funds will be used for the hiring of 2,000 additional jail officers, construction of 22 jail structures, construction of perimeter fences, and procurement of 20 transport vehicles.
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