_____________

date
BJMP NHQ

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES

NUMBER 2010 - __________

POLICY ON THE CONDUCT OF INTERFAITH/RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES

INSIDE BJMP JAILS

I. REFERENCES

1. Memorandum from the SILG dated January 22, 2010 re: Activation of the Directorate
for Inmates Welfare and Development, Directorate for Intelligence and Directorate for
Investigation and Prosecution of the BJMP;
2. U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners;
3. The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines;
4. “Prisoner Reentry, Religion and Research” (http://peerta.acg.hhs.gov/pdf/
prisoner_rentry.pdf, accessed on March 16, 2010);
5. BJMP Revised Manual 2007; and
6. Guidelines and Policies for the Service Providers. National Capital Region Chaplaincy
Service. BJMP.

II. BACKGROUND/RATIONALE

Since the beginning of prisons and jails, religion has influenced philosophies of
punishment and rehabilitation. Whether motivated by religious beliefs or a sense of civic
duty, “the church” has helped direct the course of modern corrections. For more than a
century, the church has been relied upon to provide spiritual guidance and support to
prisoners. The church has also provided, and continues to provide, a wide-range of
secular services to prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families. Traditionally, these services
include the provision of food, shelter and clothing. Other services involve education,
employment, and housing assistance. Still other services include crime prevention,
substance abuse counselling and treatment, and victim assistance in communities across
the nation.

In the Philippines, there has been a resurgence of religion in our jails over the years.
As a result, increasingly diverse faith practices have entered jail settings, and the number
of religious services and activities has increased. Today, a variety of faiths are practiced in
jail facilities and there is wide variance among types of religious program services.
BJMP/Policy on Interfaith/Religious Activities/Gabriel-Pel May 2010 1
 Due to limited space and resources in jails, it is therefore imperative that these
services should be regulated so that every inmate will be given equal opportunity to
exercise and enjoy their religious beliefs which should be in accordance with the U.N.
Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners(Rules 41-42) and Section 5, Article III
of the Philippine Constitution which states that: “No law shall be made respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and
enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination of preference, shall
forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political
rights.”

III. PURPOSE AND SCOPE

This policy aims to provide the general guidelines for the conduct of
religious/interfaith activities inside the facilities under the Bureau of Jail Management and
Penology (BJMP).

IV. OBJECTIVES

1. To provide guidelines for the conduct of interfaith/religious activities inside BJMP

controlled Jails.
2. To institutionalize a uniform set of prescribed rules that will serve as guide to all
religious service providers in all BJMP jails nationwide.
3. To promote standard geared towards formation of values among inmates aimed to
bring about positive transformation of the individual.

V. DEFINITION OF TERMS

JAIL – is a place of confinement for city and municipal prisoners, any fugitive from justice,
or person detained awaiting or undergoing investigation or trial and/or transfer to the
National Penitentiary, and/or violent mentally ill person who endangers him/herself or the
safety of others, duly certified as such by the proper medical or health officer, ending
transfer to a mental institution.

RELIGION – a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe,
especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually
involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing
the conduct of human affairs.

INTERFAITH – of, operating, or occurring between persons belonging to different religions.

RELIGIOUS SERVICE PROVIDER – an entity offering religious services for the

benefit/development of an inmate.

PROSELYTIZING – is the act of attempting to convert people to another religion.

BJMP/Policy on Interfaith/Religious Activities/Gabriel-Pel May 2010 2

VI. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1. Inmates are entitled to practice his/her religion beliefs and moral precepts.
2. Respect for religion must always be taken into account, hence, inmates and personnel
should not be forced to take part in any religious activities contrary to their individual
religious beliefs.
3. There shall be no discrimination on grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

VII. REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCREDITATION OF RELIGIOUS SERVICE PROVIDER (FLOW CHART A)

Prior to the Service Provider’s conduct of any religious activity inside the jail facility,
it should be duly accredited by the Inmates Welfare and Development Division of the
Regional Office where the jail is located. The accreditation should be endorsed by Chiefs
of the Regional Intelligence Division and the Regional Chaplaincy Service and should be
accompanied by the following:

1. Letter of Intent to serve the jail signed by the Pastors or Head of the organization.
2. SEC Registration of the Service Providers or Certificate of Accommodation of a SEC
Registered Organization.
3. Memorandum of Agreement (MOA).
a. The MOA shall be prepared and reviewed by the Legal Service of the Region in
coordination with the Regional Inmates Welfare Division, Regional Chaplaincy
Service and the Religious Service Provider.
b. The MOA shall state, among others, the services to be rendered, jails to be
served, time it shall render the services as well as the conditions to be followed
and the program they have to engage in. Any violation of the agreement could
be a sufficient ground to rescind the signed MOA.
c. For Religious Service Providers that will render services to more than one jail, it
shall enter a MOA with the Regional Director. For those that will serve only one
jail, it shall enter a MOA with the Warden.
4. List of Volunteers - each with 4 pcs. 2x2 ID pictures (for the Gaters, IWD Office/CHS
Office and Personal ID). The IDs shall be initialled by Chief of the Regional Intelligence
Division and signed by the Regional Director.

VIII. GUIDELINES FOR THE CONDUCT OF INTERFAITH/RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES

1. All existing jail policies, rules and regulations shall be strictly observed. Service
Providers shall be briefed of these rules prior to entry of the jail facility.
2. The Religious Service Provider shall submit quarterly Plan of Actions to the Unit IWDO
for evaluation and to avoid conflict of schedules. It shall be properly endorsed to and
duly approved by the Jail Warden.
3. Religious Service Providers are encouraged to conduct religious activities only to
inmates belonging to their church ministry. For security purposes and to maintain
order, they shall only be conducted in designated areas as approved by the Jail
Warden. A list of the religious denominations of the inmates should be made
available. The Unit IWDO shall be responsible in producing this list.
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 4. Religious service providers are discouraged from proselytizing while inside the jail
facility. It is recommended that they shall only teach their respective members on
their ministries doctrines without any negative reference to the religious beliefs of
other religions. Mutual respect for one’s belief must always be observed.
5. BJMP encourages inmates to attend only the activities of the religious group where
they belong. Inmates, however, are not prevented from joining other religious
activities or other activities inside the jail provided they: (a) finish first the religious
activity they are currently engaged to; and (b) do not attend various activities of
different religious groups on a regular and/or frequent basis. Regular or frequent basis
shall mean attending thrice or more the activities of different religious groups other
than those activities of the religious group where he belongs.
6. Activities conducted by religious service providers shall be incorporated in the
schedule of activities of the inmates in jail. These religious activities should be
conducted in a manner that will not disrupt other jail activities.
7. There should be proper scheduling of the religious activities to prevent conflict and to
assure that each of the service providers is given enough time and place for them to
conduct their activity.
8. All Service Providers should attend the regular meeting of the Religious Service
Providers to discuss issues and concerns regarding their activities and other reminders
from the wardens or higher authorities.
9. All the presidents or representative of the jails religious service providers are
encouraged to attend the meeting of the Regional Federation to synchronize the
regional activities and discussed regional policies and concerns.
10. All Service Providers belonging to the same traditions or faith (Catholic, Born Again,
Muslims, etc.) are encouraged to organize among themselves for coordination and
synchronization purposes.
11. All Service Providers are encouraged to provide feedbacks, suggestions and
recommendations for the purpose of enhancing the management and services of
BJMP to the inmates.
12. All Service Providers are encouraged to refrain from dole out interventions except for
emergency cases. Instead, transformative and developmental faith interventions must
be given importance.
13. Regional IWD Chief together with Chaplaincy Service shall call a quarterly meeting with
all Service Providers to discuss and provide possible solutions on issues affecting them.
14. The Jail Warden, for security reasons or as deemed necessary, may discontinue any
religious activity.

BJMP/Policy on Interfaith/Religious Activities/Gabriel-Pel May 2010 4

IX. MONITORING

1. The IWDO shall visit, every now and then, with the different religious service providers
in the conduct of their activities inside the jail to observe/monitor them and to see if
the terms and conditions of the MOA and the provisions set forth in this policy are
followed.
2. The Jail Warden shall submit a report to the Regional Director (Attention: Inmates
Welfare and Development Division), copy furnished Chief Chaplain of the Region, of
the religious activities conducted in their jail. In turn, the Regional Director shall duly
accomplish DIWD form G (Annex A) and submit it to the National Headquarters
(Attention: Directorate for Inmates Welfare and Development) not later than the 5 th
day of the succeeding month.

X. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE

In the event that any provision or part of the policy be declared unauthorized or
rendered invalid by a competent authority, those provisions not affected by such
declaration shall remain valid and effective.

XI. REPEALING CLAUSE

All other existing issuances which are inconsistent with this policy are hereby
rescinded or modified accordingly.

XII. EFFECTIVITY

This policy takes effect immediately.

ROSENDO M DIAL, CESO III

Jail Director (DSC)
Chief, BJMP

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 FLOW CHART A

ACCREDITATION OF RELIGIOUS SERVICE PROVIDER

Religious Service Issuance of IDs / Certificate of

Provider Accreditation (with validity date)

1. Letter of Intent to
Serve. 1 5
2. SEC Registration or
Certificate of Regional
Accommodation of a Regional IWDD
SEC Registered Director
Organization.

2
If more than 1 jail, RD to
Review / Verification 4
sign MOA
3. List of Preparation/Finalization of MOA
Volunteers (with 4
pcs. of 2x2 pictures
3 If only 1 jail, Warden to
each). Regional Regional sign MOA
Regional
4. Other supporting Intelligence Chaplaincy Legal
Division Service Service

BJMP/Policy on Interfaith/Religious Activities/Gabriel-Pel May 2010 6

 ANNEX A

BJMP/Policy on Interfaith/Religious Activities/Gabriel-Pel Apr 2010 7