JAILS ORDERED TO INVENTORY DRUG OFFENDER-DETAINEES

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina has ordered the
Bureau of Jail Management and Penology to conduct an inventory of
inmates in district, city and municipal jails nationwide who are
facing drug charges.

Provincial DILG Officer Ralph Lozada said the directive comes in
preparation for the surge of jail population due to the government's
renewed campaign against illegal drugs.

The inventory is necessary to identify which jails should be
prioritized for expansion and/or renovation in the light of the
intensified campaign by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the
Philippine National Police against illegal drugs.

Roberto Abejero, DILG-Region 7 Director, said in a press statement
that Lina has ordered the immediate submission of list of jails that
have been inventoried. Part of the P1 billion fund set aside by
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the campaign against illegal
drugs will be used for the construction and expansion of jails with a
big population of inmates facing drug charges.

The DILG Secretary also reiterated his call for Congress to provide
the BJMP with a bigger budget for the construction of bigger jails
nationwide. BJMP records reveal that, as of May this year, 24 percent
of the 45,227 inmates in jails all over the country face drug charges,
and that the influx of inmates with such cases increased at a monthly
rate of 3.44 percent. This is the highest rate of increase compared to
other crimes or offenses so far, Abejero said.