BJMP ready for Eleksyon 2025 inside PH jails

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BMJP) said that they are ready to assist over 31,000 voters inside Philippine jails for Eleksyon 2025.

During a press briefing on Wednesday, BJMP spokesperson Jail Superintendent Jayrex Bustinera said that they will be operating more than 400 special polling precincts inside jails.

“Mayroon po tayong humigit 31,000 na botante na boboto ngayong halalan out of 115,000 nationwide. Mayroon lang tayong mga nasa 1,000 na PDL na dadalhin sa labas sa mga community polling precinct natin. So far, okay naman ang preparation,” Bustinera said.

(We have more than 31,000 voters that will be voting in this election out of 115,000 nationwide. We just have around 1,000 PDLs that will be brought out to community polling precincts. So far, the preparation seems okay.)

“Dito po 115,000 ang total population, so around nasa 80,000 plus ang hindi boboto dahil hindi sila registered as voters. Ganoon din po sila ang mga newly commit o bagong kulung pa lamang at hindi nakapagparehistro kung saan nasa ang location ng aming kulungan,” he added.

(Out of the 115,000 total population, more than 80,000 will not vote because they are not registered as voters. It would be the same for the newly committed or newly detained who were unable to register in the area where our jail is located.)

According to Bustinera, representatives of the Comission on Elections (Comelec) will be deployed to special polling precints inside jails with officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and BJMP.

The Comelec representatives will bring the ballots and will hold elections in the special precincts until 2 p.m. and submit the ballots to automated counting machines (ACMs) with representatives of PNP and BJMP to ensure accuracy.

He also shared that third-party watchdogs were welcome to observe PDL voting inside jails.

“Similar sa ating community polling precinct ay welcome ang observers, watchers even sa loob ng kulungan. Of course, subject to security inspection lamang ito bago pumasok ng jail,” he said.

(Similar to our community polling precinct, observers are welcome, watchers even inside the jail. Of course, they would be subject to inspection before entering jail.)

Candidates

Meanwhile, he shared that the BJMP has recorded a total of 7 candidates currently in detention and allowed to campaign through court orders and recorded videos.

“Meron po tayong 7 kandidato ngayon sa naitala ng BJMP. Isa for senator, isa for representative, isang vice mayor and the other are in the municipal councilors,” he said.

(We have 7 candidates recorded by the BJMP. One is running for senator, one for representative, one for vice mayor, and the others are municipal councilors.)

Bustinera reiterated that BJMP inmates were innocent until proven otherwise, which meant that their right to suffrage remained intact.

“Ang importance nito, ang mga nakakulong natin ay the last, the least and the lost in our community. More often than not ay napapagkaitan ng mga essential services sa lipunan, kaya nga sila nakukulong. The importance is, of course, mas mahalaga na makapili sila ng leader that will represent their best interest,” he said.

(The importance of this is that the ones in jail are the last, the least, and the lost in our community. More often than not, they are being deprived of essential services in our society, which is why they went to jail. The importance is, of course, that it is important for them to choose a leader that will represent their best interest.) —VAL, GMA Integrated News

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