Zamboanga City Jail Male Dormitory (ZCJMD) warden Jail Supt. Xavier Solda (Photo courtesy of BJMP) MANILA - Former Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) spokesperson Jail Supt. Xavier Solda pledged to improve service delivery for persons deprived of liberty (PDL) as he assumed his new position as jail warden of the Zamboanga City Jail Male Dormitory (ZCJMD). "More than the reform programs and policy support, the PDL needs our care and understanding. Malaking hamon ang ating kinakaharap araw-araw ngunit kung nais nating mabago ang buhay ng mga kapatid nating nasa piitan, simulan muna natin ang mabuting pagbabago sa ating mga sarili at kung paano tayo nagsisilbi sa kanila at sa ating mga kababayan (We face great challenges every day but if we want to change the lives of our brothers and sisters in prison, let's start making good changes in ourselves and how we serve them and our fellow citizens)," Solda said during the turnover rites at the ZCJMD onMonday. BJMP 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) Director, Jail Chief Supt. Baby Noel Montalvo, meanwhile, told Solda to intensify campaigns against the proliferation of contraband in the facility and continue decongestion efforts. The ZCJDM houses 2,113 PDLs and has a 1,006 percent average congestion rate. "Gawin mo ang iyong buong makakaya upang maipagpatuloy natin ng mahusay ang mga kinakailangang reporma sa pasilidad (Do your best so that we can proceed efficiently with the necessary facility reforms)," Montalvo told Solda. Meanwhile, BJMP chief Jail Director Allan Iral lauded Solda's designation. "We are confident of Superintendent Solda's leadership background and management experience and capabilities to improve the living condition in the biggest jail facility of Western Mindanao," Iral said. Solda's designation as ZCJMD warden came after the jail bureau recalibrated its strategies to expand welfare and development programs for PDLs in highly populated and congested jail facilities. He received his degree in Public Safety from the Philippine National Police Academy in 2008 and has a Master's degree in Development Management from the Development Academy of the Philippines. He also completed a Practical Project Management program at the Asian Institute of Management. At present, he is pursuing post-graduate studies in Public Management at the Ateneo School of Government, Ateneo de Manila University, as a scholar under the Dean Dina Abad Emerging Leaders Fellowship Program. Solda was also a Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) Lakan Distinguished Awardee in 2015 and was named BJMP's Staff Jail Officer of the Year in 2022, with more than a decade of experience in policy development and project management, public procurement, and crisis communications. Jail Chief Insp. Jayrex Joseph Bustinera replaced Solda as the new BJMP spokesperson. (PNA) }