Marikina City jail inmates, guards undergo drug testing

About 600 inmates and 75 jail guards of the Marikina City Jail on Saturday underwent drug testing, two weeks after police authorities recovered drug paraphernalia in the detention facility.

Out of the 900 inmates in the Marikina City Jail, 600 have voluntarily took the drug test which started at around 9 a.m. The test was administered by the Marikina City Health Office.

All of the 75 personnel of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) took the drug test.

Marikina City Mayor Marcy Teodoro said the results of the drug test would be known on Monday, as the urine samples of the inmates and jail guards would still have to undergo laboratory and confirmatory testings by accredited doctors.

Teodoro said the drug tests were voluntary.

Meanwhile, Marikina City Jail warden Chief Inspector Jojie Jonathan Pangan clarified that while the inmates and the jail guards may have had an idea about the drug test, they did not know the exact date and time when it would be conducted.

Pangan said the inmates and BJMP personnel who would turn positive to the drug test will face criminal charges. Pangan added that the jail guards may also face administrative charges if they would test positive.

Pangan said the whole detention facility is now under strict surveillance following the recent confiscation of drug paraphernalia. Visitors are subjected to stricter body search.

Of the 766 male inmates of Marikina City Jail, 478 are detained due to drug-related cases. Meanwhile, 110 of the 150 female inmates are detained due to drug-related cases.

Teodo and Pangan admitted that the jail facility is already way past its accommodation capacity of only 600 inmates. They said there is a plan to convert the fourth floor as well as some stock rooms of the facility into detention cells. —Elizabeth Marcelo/ALG, GMA News