An official of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) is calling on local government units (LGUs) to include inmates among their target vaccine recipients as the agency is dependent on them and the availability of supply from the Department of Health .
To date, only 27,319 out of 121,895 persons deprived of liberty (PDL) have been vaccinated against Covid-19 so far — 10,939 already with complete doses.
“The number of PDLs who are yet to be vaccinated is quite big,” Chief Inspector Xavier Solda, the BJMP spokesperson, said during a virtual press conference on Monday.
“Kung ‘yung ating mga LGU (local government units) ay hindi makakalimutan yung kanilang mga constituent sa loob ng mga district, city, and municipal jails natin, malaking bagay ‘yun para sa BJMP (So if our LGUs will remember their constituents incarcerated in district, city, and municipal jails, that will be favorable to the BJMP),’’ he added.
At the Bocaue municipal jail in Bulacan and Bataan District Jail, Solda said all inmates were already vaccinated through the efforts of their LGUs.
Solda said the BJMP wants to inoculate all PDLs “but unfortunately, we are dependent on the supply coming from the Department of Health and support of our local government units”.
Solda said there have been 4,235 Covid-19 cases among PDLs, with 99 still active.
“If we can do it the soonest time possible, ‘yun naman ang direksyon ng BJMP (that is the direction of the BJMP). That is why ito ‘yung panawagan natin sa ating mga pamahalaang lokal na sana ‘wag nilang makalimutan yung kanilang mga constituents sa loob ng mga facility ng BJMP (this is our appeal to the local governments not to forget their constituencies inside BJMP facilities),” Solda stressed.
Among BJMP staff, 11,997 have been fully vaccinated while 14,023 have the first dose.
There are 145 active Covid-19 cases among BJMP personnel.
Source: Philippines News Agency