Christmas came early for the persons deprived of liberty, as the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology on Saturday allowed the resumption of face-to-face visitation in jails under its jurisdiction.

"As an early Christmas gift to our PDLs and their families, we are again allowing face-to-face visitation in our facilities. Part of our concern for them is to do everything possible so that they can be with their families as well," BJMP chief Jail Director Allan Iral said in a statement.

Considering the congestion rate in the majority of BJMP jail facilities, only 25 percent of the total PDL population of the jail facility shall be allowed to avail of face-to-face visitation in a single visitation day.

Only immediate family members of PDLs shall be allowed to visit and avail of the "Contact Visitation" — provided that their names are included in the Approved Visitor's List found in the National Monitoring System and PDL Single Carpeta System, and they have scheduled their visit.

To ensure that everyone is protected from the virus, visitors who wish to avail of an in-contact visitation must be fully vaccinated, preferably with a booster shot against Covid-19, and proof of this must be presented prior to jail entry.

In the event that visitors are not vaccinated, they may enter the jail facility as long as they can show proof that they tested negative for Covid-19 through RT-PCR or Antigen taken 24 to 72 hours upon entry.

Visitation hours on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are from 1p.m. to 5p.m. while on Saturday and Sunday are from 8 a.m. to 12 noon, and will resume at 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.

Monday and Friday are reserved for PDL's washday and sanitation of the entire jail facility.

E-dalaw program
Other modes of visitation such as the E-dalaw program for PDL are still available to maximize visitation, and in cases where face-to-face visitation cannot be implemented due to heightened community risk level, security or other related circumstances.

Of the 477 jail facilities under the BJMP, only those with at least 85 percent of their personnel and PDL are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, shall implement in-person or contact visitation.

As of Friday, a total of 126,440 PDL, or 97.44 percent out of the 129,766 jail population already received Covid-19 jabs.

Of the 126,440 PDL vaccinated, 116,398 already received their first dose, 112,772 completed their second dose and 10,042 were inoculated with a single dose vaccine.

Meanwhile, 106,134 PDL, or 81.79 percent of the jail population had already received their booster shot against Covid-19.

In Metro Manila, BJMP-NCR Regional Director Jail Chief Superintendent Efren Nemeño recently confirmed that all 39 jails are now ready for the resumption of Contact Visitation next week.

Earlier this week, jails in NCR have already conducted dry runs to ensure the proper implementation of procedures and protocols for the entry of visitors inside the facility.

"While we are mindful of the influx of visitors this season, we are also ensuring the operational readiness of our jail facilities particularly their management plan and security protocols during the holiday season," Nemeño stressed.

BJMP Regional Covid-19 Task Force are tasked to monitor the conduct and implementation of Contact Visitation in all jail facilities under their jurisdiction.