“As part of our commitment, we will not stop until all the PDLs detained in BJMP-supervised jails have been fully vaccinated,” DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has ramped up the vaccination of Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs), with more than half –61.5 percent, or 75,970 – of the 123,499 PDLs in jail facilities run by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) receiving their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, 33 percent or 40,875 PDLs have received their full two doses.
“Protecting the PDLs through vaccination is at the heart of the BJMP mandate to safekeep and ensure their welfare. We remain committed to this with more than 60 percent of the PDL population already given their first dose of Covid-19 jabs,” DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said in a press release.
Año said that everyone deserves to be protected against Covid-19 and this goes the same for PDLs who were never considered by the DILG as second-class citizens just because they are detained.
“As part of our commitment, we will not stop until all the PDLs detained in BJMP-supervised jails have been fully vaccinated,” Año said.
He said that this brings the total number of vaccine doses administered by the BJMP to PDLs to 116,845 in the 472 district, city, and municipal jails nationwide under the DILG-BJMP as of October 20.
Jail guards vaccinated, too
Aside from ensuring the PDLs’ welfare, the DILG chief said that among the 18,801 BJMP personnel, 84.48 percent or 15,883 personnel have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, while 81.44 percent or 15,311 personnel have been fully vaccinated.
Three BJMP Regional Offices have equally reached 93 percent full dose vaccination of their workforce as of October 20, 2021.
These are Regions I, IX, and XI.
Año assured the public that the DILG and BJMP are in constant coordination with the DOH and local government units (LGUs) for vaccine allocation to ensure the welfare and protection of PDLs and BJMP uniformed personnel.
“With the increased supply of vaccines, LGUs can now provide more vaccines to jails in their jurisdiction so we can now complete the vaccination of our PDLs and BJMP personnel,” he said.
Tags: #DepartmentOfInteriorandLocalGovernment, #BureauofJailManagementandPenology, #personsdeprivedofliberty, #Covid19vaccine