9 jail guards relieved, face raps for Bataan riot

Nine jail guards from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Bataan have been relieved and will be charged in connection with a riot inside a jail facility in the province two weekends ago. The riot where at least 42 detainees were wounded erupted after some 900 inmates of the Bataan Provincial Jail in Balanga held a noise barrage to protest a number of newly imposed policies at the facility. According to the BJMP, jail authorities stepped in after inmates started destroying cell padlocks, drainage, steel coverings, emergency fire hoses and other belongings issued by the provincial government. “The nine officers are relieved from the Bataan District Jail and reassigned to the BJMP Regional Office III, pending the filing of appropriate administrative and criminal charges," said BJMP chief director Rosendo Dial. The BJMP’S directorate for Investigation and Prosecution already recommended the filing of charges of Conduct Grossly Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service against the nine jail guards as provided for under the BJMP Manual Revised 2007. “The bureau does not tolerate its erring personnel and is always ready to execute the full force of the law without prejudice to due process," said Dial. Relieved were Senior Inspector Junteddy Madria, Inspector Jose Ariel Santos, SJO4 Oliver Baraero, SJO2 Richard Balinagay, SJO1 Florante Evangelista, JO1 Jefferson Damokling, JO1 Jun Alunday, JO1 Louie Quejado, and JO1 Alberto Agpad Jr. Dial, however, clarified that inmates who were found to have destroyed government properties also face appropriate criminal charges, according to the recommendations of the investigating panel. According to a report from Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, the detainees staged a noise barrage after jail officials tore down their cubicles inside their prison cells called "tarimas." Samahan ng mga Pamilya ng mga Detenido sa Bataan (SPDB) spokesperson Mara Bathan claimed two inmates were transferred to Olongapo after the riot, while one allegedly died. This, however, could not be independently confirmed, since the BJMP claimed that none of the prisoners were seriously injured during the incident. Among the policies opposed both by the inmates and their relatives were the shortening of conjugal visits to just an hour. PDB also claimed receiving reports that female relatives of the inmates felt "harassed" whenever they were being frisked by jail guards during their visits to the facility. - KBK, GMANews.TV