THE Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) will be conducting an emergency drill on Monday, January 16, to test the response readiness of its personnel at the Zamboanga City Reformatory Center (ZCRC).
ZCRC warden Ervin Diaz said the emergency drill will include scenarios on hostage taking, jail takeover by inmates, inmates’ escape, and others.
Diaz said the emergency drill would enable them to examine and update the security and contingency plans of the jail facility.
He said the drill is for the BJMP personnel to put into practice their contingency plan so that they know what to do in case of emergencies.
The ZCRC warden said the other agencies that will participate in the forthcoming emergency drill are the Zamboanga City Police Office, Bureau of Fire Protection and the Task Force Zamboanga. This will determine how fast they can respond to a call for assistance from the ZCRC in case of emergency.
Diaz said they have further strengthened the security at the ZCRC to prevent incident similar to the January 4 jailbreak at the North Cotabato District Jail in Kidapawan City.
The ZCRC houses some arrested members of the Abu Sayyaf Group, who are classified as high risk inmates, he said. (Bong Garcia/VoxPop Philippines)