By Jennifer P. Rendon
Four personnel of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) were administratively charged following the August 24, 2022 noise barrage incident staged by Iloilo District Jail-Male Dormitory (IDJ) inmates.
Jail Superintendent Jairus Anthony Dogelio, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology – Region 6 (BJMP-6) spokesperson and legal officer, said that the Regional Investigation and Prosecution Division (RIPD) found prima facie evidence to administratively charge the four personnel for gross neglect of duty.
Charged were Jail Chief Inspector Norberto Miciano Jr., the two on-duty personnel stationed at the building’s second floor, and the chief of the Security and Control section.
The two personnel were indicted for their failure to monitor and supervise the activity when the incident happened.
“Supposedly, it was a religious activity for the PDLs (persons deprived of liberty) but they were able to take advantage of the situation because there was no proper supervision from the two duty personnel,” Dogelio said.
The chief of the Security and Control section was also charged because of his command responsibility over the two personnel.
“He should have been the one supervising the two personnel if they indeed performed their respective tasks,” Dogelio said.
Miciano, on the other hand, was also charged as part of his command responsibility being the jail warden.
“He should have direct control of all activities inside the jail facility,” he said.
The BJMP-6 Regional Hearing Office will hear the case.
If proven guilty, the maximum penalty could be dismissal from the service.
Dogelio said there’s no need for the four personnel to be placed under preventive suspension because they were already relieved from the place of the incident.
Miciano is now assigned to the BJMP-6 regional office while the three were moved to other jail facilities.
“There’s no way for them to influence the outcome of the investigation,” Dogelio said.
The regional office also took into consideration the problem of the lack of personnel in sparing the four officers from preventive suspension.
Around 100 PDLs trekked to the rooftop of the IDJ in Barangay Nanga, Pototan, Iloilo to protest the way the jail was being run.
The noise barrage started at 8:45 a.m. on Aug 24 until mid-afternoon.
The inmates raised at least two demands: better food ration and the relief of their warden, Jail Chief Inspector Norberto Miciano, Jr.
The inmates displayed an improvised tarpaulin bearing! “Gutom kami. Layas warden.”
Following the incident, the BJMP-6 addressed the PLDs’ concerns:
-Miciano was immediately relieved and was succeeded by Jail Chief Inspector Denver Beltran.
-Per the inmates’ request, the posted menu shall be strictly followed;
-The schedule of turning on and off of electricity will also be followed;
– shortening of COVID-related isolation;
-Adjustments to the kind and quantity of food that inmates’ family members can bring.
