Inmates hurt as jail guards stop noise barrage in Makati City jail

The noise barrage that Makati City Jail inmates conducted early Wednesday ended bloody as jail guards attempt to pacify them.

A video taken by GMA News reporter Vonne Aquino and aired in News To Go and Balitanghali showed jail guards hitting defenseless and already bloodied inmates, who conducted the noise barrage in protest against alleged anomalies in the detention facility.

The inmates alleged that an official of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) who forced them into selling drugs in the detention facility.

They are also protesting how their food is being served and alleged physical abused by jail guards.

"Ang gusto naming pagbabago yung mawala yung opisyal dito na gumagawa ng mga...nagpapartaing ng droga, yung mga anomalya, yung lahat. Yung aming hinihingi, lahat...yun ang gusto naming mabago, yung sistema," an inmate said.

The protest ended after the inmates were hosed down by two fire trucks.

During a press conference held after the incident, BJMP spokesman Senior Inspector Xavier Solda said the bureau will investigate the inmates' claims.

Solda said that inmates' noise barrage could be a ploy against the BJMP's tighter implementation of security measures that has resulted in the confiscation of the inmates' contrabands.

The BJMP has transferred the 11 inmates involved in the noise barrage to the Bicutan City Jail.

Makati City Mayor Kid Peña, meanwhile, conducted an inspection at the jail.

He said he was open to a dialogue with the prisoners. —Jessica Bartolome/ALG, GMA News