The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) appealed Sunday for an en banc resolution by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on its proposal to set up poll precincts in detention centers and allow thousands of inmates to vote in next year’s elections.

The appeal has come on the heels of preparations in various BJMP district jails for on-site registration of inmates, as approved in a separate Comelec en banc resolution released last month.

“Umaapela po kami sa Comelec ngayong isinasaayos na namin sa BJMP ang pagre-rehistro ng mga bilanggo na mas marami sa kanila ang makaboto kung papayagan din ang on-site voting,” said Chief Supt. Steve Barretto, BJMP-National Capital Region director.

Under the Omnibus Election Code, the Comelec is only allowed to set up polling precincts in schools as well as consulate offices for the case of absentee voters.

However, the recent Comelec resolution, which allows on-site registration of inmates in BJMP detention facilities where at least 200 are eligible to vote, has opened the possibility of casting their ballots in jail.

“We’ve done this before in Mindanao when the Comelec allowed two poll precincts to be set up in the Davao City Jail in past elections. Sana magawa natin ito on a wider scale.” said Barretto.

He said this is part of the vision of BJMP Chief Rosendo Dial to allow 61,000 inmates in BJMP detention facilities throughout the country to exercise their right to suffrage.

Last August 19, the Manila City became the pilot area for the Comelec’s on-site registration program, in coordination with the BJMP, Commission on Human Rights (CHR), and Department of Interior and Local Government.

Over 300 were able to register although Dial projected that 4,353 out of the 5,120 detainees there are eligible to vote.

Sunday, Senior Inspector Josephine Pacadaljen, warden of the Metro Manila District Jail (MMDJ) Women’s Section in Taguig City, led pre-registration interviews of inmates ahead of the on-site registration set on September 3.

Pacadaljen explained that the screening is based on the guidelines given by the Comelec. “We can only register inmates who have cases still on trial; those whose conviction are not yet final or are still under appeal; as well as those who were sentenced to serve not more than a year in prison,” she said.

The MMDJ, composed of the women’s and men’s sections and the Taguig City Jail, has over 800 inmates, said Pacadaljen.

Barretto added that in Metro Manila jails, there are some 21,000 inmates deprived of the right to suffrage. "You can imagine how many of them are eligible to vote but have been deprived of that right. Dahil nga hindi pa pwedeng mag-set up ng polling precinct dito sa jail, pati nga mga guwardiya namin hindi nakakaboto sa araw ng eleksyon,” said Barretto.

He said their representations with the Comelec for on-site voting in May 2010 have been made by Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno and CHR Chairperson Leila de Lima.