TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan, April 2 (PIA) – The signature of Governor Alvaro Antonio is all that is needed for the eventual transfer of supervision and jurisdiction of the Cagayan Provincial Jail to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

BJMP Jail Supt. Seferino Siongco said the provincial board, in a resolution penned by Board Member Atty. Mila Lauigan, has approved of the move as early as last year.

But the MOA will have to wait as the Governor is neck-deep into the campaign for the 2013 mid-term election in May.

“Unlike the BJMP personnel and staff, most of the country’s provincial jails are known to employ staff like jail guards who are not properly trained in the custodian of detainees which most often resulted in jail breaks and other untoward incidents among such jails,” Siongco said.

Siongco said that once the provincial jail will be turned –over to them, the staff and personnel who need training on jail management and inmates handling will have to undergo similar trainings as that of the BJMP.

“There will be some sort of a three-year preparation before the BJMP will have full control to the absorbed jail, “Siongco, during the Tipon-Tipan sa PIA, said.

At the old provincial jail located at the heart of the city, several cases of jail breaks have been reported perpetuated by celebrated inmates who left a bad image on the part of the local government unit.

All existing facilities will likewise be turned over to the BJMP, Siongco added.

Once approved, Cagayan will follow suit the provinces of Bohol, Surigao, Bataan and other provinces whose jails they surrendered to the BJMP.