Freedom and Death Inside the Jail.pdf - The Action Program for ...

Fire: Structural Responses
structural responses: IMPLICATIONS ON JAIL MANAGEMENT
The alternative structures created by the inmates have come
to define the brand of management that is presently at work in
Quezon City Jail.
The Jail’s formal rules (directives in the BJMP Manual) are
sacrificed to accommodate the informal rules (by-products of
the alternative structures). The policy that prohibits fraternization
between jail officers and inmates is conveniently discarded
to implement the mutual support setup. The recognition
of the pangkat overrides the classification system provided in
the BJMP Manual. The policy that disallows inmate leaders to
exercise power over their fellow inmates is ignored to make
room for the Panunungkulan System.
As such, the BJMP Manual is nothing more than a set of pro forma
policies that is followed in paper but is not implemented in
practice. Implementing the Manual only creates conflict among
jail officers. There are jail officers who believe in strictly
implementing the Manual but others think that some elbowroom
is necessary. For example, the former do not allow visitors
to enter the cells for security purposes while the latter allow
such practice as long as visitors pay a certain amount for
practical reasons.
Cognizant of the non-applicability of the Manual, the management
gives jail officers wide latitude in performing their
tasks. Jail officers decide how to implement certain policies
based on their evaluation of the situation. Some jail wardens
allow the entry of children as legitimate visitors, others do
not. Some gaters allow the entry of kerosene, others do not.
Among the inmates, the mayor has the last word on issues. He
decides, for example, when to spend the cell’s fund for which
project.
There is, therefore, a need for a different set of criteria if
one is to determine the performance of jail officers. In Quezon
City Jail, a jail officer is considered good if he knows how to
play around the system and deliver results for his department.
An officer who produces an air conditioner unit, for example,
is lauded by his peers even if he has acquired the equipment
by extorting money from inmates and visitors; he is hailed as
madiskarte (one who knows how to capitalize on his abilities)
and a real asset to his department. Meanwhile, a jail guard
who dutifully performs his duty and refuses to accept pamasahe
(bribe money) from inmates is considered walang pakisama and
is thus unpopular even among his fellow officers.
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