Garcia expands Dinalupihan Municipal Jail

DINALUPIHAN, Bataan – Mayor Maria Angela Garcia on Monday led the blessing and opening of the newly renovated and expanded building of the Dinalupihan Municipal Jail.

Garcia was joined by Bataan RTC Branch 5 Executive Judge Amelita Corpuz together with Vice Mayor and doctor, Rey Matawaran and the municipal council members, the local press, the PNP and the jail officials.

The facility is being managed by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology or the BJMP and houses more than 160 inmates, male and female.

“We decided to renovate and expand this jail temporarily while we are on the planning stage in building a permanent jail facilities here,” Garcia told 1Bataan.com.

The local jail formerly has only 40-inmate capacity with no place for them to catch some early morning sunshine or an area for exercise.

Mayor Garcia also reported a lot of pleas or requests from the inmates’ relatives to help them ask the local court not to allow their loved ones be transferred to the provincial jail (Bataan District Jail). But Garcia said due to the limited capacity of the facility, not all requests are being approved by the local court so as to avoid overcrowding inside the jail.

Meanwhile, Judge Corpuz proudly reported some reforms being practiced in relation to the continuous trial system being implemented in all trial courts nationwide according to the Supreme Court.

The SC recently approved the nationwide implementation of the project upon recommendation of its special committee on speedy trial chaired by Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta. Under the system, trial should be held from Monday to Thursday and courts must call the cases at exactly 8:30 a.m. for morning hearings and 2 p.m. for afternoon hearings.

The project is designed to cut trial duration on criminal cases from the usual three to five years to just around three months.