CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — The Department of the Interior and Local Government is urging local government units in the region to include jails in mass testing as part of the national government’s efforts to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Monday, DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya assured the public that the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology has its own Covid-19 task force to ensure that there will be no outbreak inside the jail.
“If LGUs can help our jail wardens in ensuring the safety and well-being of the jail population, it would be good. If the jail warden reported a possible PUM [person under monitoring] or PUI [person under investigation] and they have conducted a contact tracing, I hope the LGUs and Department of Health can prioritize them for the mass testing,” he explained.
Malaya said the BJMP has developed its own system aiming to contain potential carriers of the disease even before they get tested positive to the infectious disease.
“These PUMs and PUIs, even before they are tested, are transferred to an isolation facility by the BJMP. Once they are transferred there, they should be prioritized for mass testing,” he appealed.
Malaya also added that the DILG has already suspended jail visits in all facilities in the country and that jail officers are not allowed to go back to their respective homes.
“We have doctors and nurses assigned in every jail and the position of the department is they are there technically under quarantine already,” Malaya explained.
The DILG official said they are waiting for the decision of the Supreme Court on the temporary release of persons deprived of liberty (PDL) who are at high risk of being infected with the disease.
“We have no objections if the courts decide to have them released and we will comply with whatever directive may be from our judicial system,” Malaya added.
He assured the public that they haven’t received any reports of a PDL in the region who already tested positive of Covid-19.
