An online tour of some of the country’s inmate facilities drew the attention of Filipinos.
On May 22, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) uploaded a video featuring some facilities for Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) nationwide as part of the Open Government Week.
Open Government Week was an initiative held from May 18 to 22 that aimed to promote public awareness, encourage citizen participation and highlight innovations in governance.
Part of the initiative directed government agencies to hold an “Open Government Day” or “Open House Day,” during which agencies could “open their offices and/or facilities to the public and conduct activities that promote transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in governance.”
For its part, the BJMP shared a video on social media showcasing some of its facilities nationwide, featuring clean bedrooms, a reading corner, chilled coffee beverages and artworks, including paintings.
“Welcome to our house tour!” it captioned the post with emojis, following the reel trend featuring Sabrina Carpenter’s “House Tour” as background audio.
Among the facilities featured were the Quezon City Jail Female Dormitory, the Bataan District Jail Male Dormitory, the Tagaytay City Jail, the Naujan District Jail, the Talisay City Jail and the Cagayan de Oro Jail Male Dormitory.
“Bukas sa pagbabago. Bukas sa mamamayan. Isang modernong BJMP para sa mas maayos at mas makataong serbisyo,” the BJMP said at the end of its video.
The video was also posted on BJMP’s Instagram account, where it went viral, garnering more than 12,400 likes, over 1,400 reposts and over 500 comments.
“Thank you for this! Initiatives that can bring about opportunities for the inmates to integrate into society after their sentence,” an online user wrote.
“Sana lahat ng airbnb dami amenities,” Facebook group “Home Buddies” founder Frances Lim Cabatuando quipped.
“Wow, [daming] activities, gusto mo ba here?” another commented, tagging a friend.
“‘Yung mga PDL po ‘yung gumawa ng mga paintings? Gagaling naman,” another Pinoy wrote.
“Na para bang recruitment video,” an Instagram user joked.
Earlier this month, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla reported that overcrowding in jail facilities remains one of the most pressing challenges facing BJMP, saying it continues to hamper the bureau’s operational capacity and affect inmate welfare.
The Department of Interior and Local Government chief said the agency continues to push for jail decongestion and facility improvement initiatives under its proposed budget, while strengthening coordination with other government agencies to sustain long-term reforms.
“Hindi puwedeng pabayaan natin ito. Bahagi ng maayos na sistema ng hustisya ang maayos na kalagayan sa ating mga kulungan,” Remulla said.
