New Baguio jail facility to cost P476.4 million

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) wants the P476.4 million modern jail facility to be put up in a city-owned property to relocate the male and female dorms of the Baguio City Jail to accommodate the increasing number of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) being committed to it for various offenses.

Jail Superintendent Mary Ann Tresmanio, jail warden of the Baguio City Jail male dorm, disclosed that a project proposal was submitted by the BJMP-Cordillera for the construction of a new jail facility in the city to the BJMP national headquarters on February 14, 2022.

She claimed that it will now be the BJMP national headquarters that will facilitate the allocation of funds from the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for fiscal year 2023 for the realization of the said long-overdue project to help in expanding the capacity of both the female and male dormitories.

On March 11, 2021, the city government entered into a usufruct agreement with the BJMP for the relocation and construction of a new Baguio City Jail male and female dormitories, respectively.

The agreement is to address the increasing jail population of the facilities and to expand it, whether lateral or horizontal, as the current space right at the central business district cannot be expanded due to the limited space.

The proposed expansion site of the Baguio city jail female and male dormitories has a land area of approximately 3,853 square meters located at barangay San Luis Village or along the Baguio-Asin Road, one of the alternate roads leading to the country’s undisputed Summer Capital.

The jail officer expressed the profound gratitude of the BJMP family to the city government for its efforts in identifying the proposed relocation and expansion site of both the male and female dormitories of the Baguio city Jail to accommodate the increasing number of PDLs being committed to it for various offenses.

At present, the Baguio City Jail female and male dormitories are situated at the ground floor of the Baguio City Police Office (BBCPO) headquarters located right at the heart of the city which is already congested.

She also expressed hope that the BJMP can provide the needed funds by next year so that the dormitories can be relocated in the proposed site for the PDLs to have more space training to improve their skills and knowledge while awaiting the disposal of their cases.

For the past several years, the BJMP had been looking for a property for the proposed construction of new female and male dormitories of the Baguio City Jail to help in improving the current situation of the facility for the benefit of the PDLs and their visitors. – Dexter A. See