PUNO ORDERS BFP, BJMP OFFICIALS TO INSTILL DISCIPLINE ON THEIR MEN

Following the recent jailbreak at the Biñan Municipal Jail in Laguna and the alleged extortion by a fire official in San Juan City, a visibly irked Secretary Ronaldo Puno of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) today directed top officials of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to instill discipline on their personnel and ensure that “firefighters and jailguards are doing their jobs.”

At the same time, Puno gave instructions to DILG Undersecretary for Public Safety Marius Corpus to admonish fire and jail officials and personnel who are responsible for the two latest incidents that occurred in the public safety sector of the Department.

“While government is doing its best efforts to upgrade our public safety services and promote the welfare of our public safety officers, we should also go hard on erring fire and jail personnel who are remiss in their jobs, particularly those who are using their position to extort money on hapless citizens,” he said.

Early morning of Wednesday, 16 inmates bolted from their cells at the Biñan Municipal Jail in Laguna after overpowering the lone jail guard who was left manning the jail gates when the other one accompanied a sick prisoner to a nearby hospital.

Erickson Javier, charged for violation of RA 9165, voluntarily surrendered, while six others were recaptured by the police namely: Wilson Esteban, charged for robbery; Ralph Ochoa, carnapping; Andrew Placios, carnapping; Romano Mane, violation of RA 7832; Aries Bon, theft; and Marlon Pascual, violation of RA 9165.

In San Juan City , F/Inspector Chandler Arcadio is in hot water after being arrested in an entrapment operation for allegedly trying to extort money from a businesswoman to expedite the processing of the insurance claim of her store that burned down last month.

Undersecretary Corpus said, “Without prejudice to any case which may be filed against him, Arcadio has already been relieved from his post and is now on a floating status at the BFP National Headquarters.

He said that aside from administrative sanctions that may be imposed, “any erring fire and jail personnel shall be dealt with accordingly under existing laws and regulations.”

Corpus also appealed to the public to report their complaints or illegal acts of BFP and BJMP personnel directly to his Office at the DILG central office in Diliman, Quezon City or call Tel. Nos. 920-7783 and 925-9114.