President Duterte led the send-off of 250 brand-new transport vehicles in Camp Vicente Lim yesterday for distribution to different district, city and municipal jails across the country.
According to Bureau of Jail Management Penology (BJMP) chief Jail Director Deogracias Tapayan, the acquisition of the vehicles is the biggest in bureau’s history.
Tapayan said it was in December last year that the President allotted P299 million for the purchase of a total of 322 transport vehicles, enabling the bureau to acquire in one procurement more than the total number of vehicles purchased in the past two decades.
“This support from the national government in addressing not only the congestion but even the mobility problems in district, city and municipal jails is a testament of our President’s desire to address the needs of policemen in the most expeditious way possible,” said Tapayan.
Most of the time, BJMP is confronted with the challenge of transporting PDL during court hearings.
Before the acquisition, the BJMP needed at least 1,232 transport vehicles while it has 357 units only or a variance of 875. Not all jails have their own vehicle.
“The bureau is also thankful that as of this date, the bureau received a total of P3.4 billion for the construction of 107 jail buildings in 17 regions nationwide to address the perennial problem of jail overcrowding,” he added.
