Lived Experiences of Bureau of Jail Management and Penology Escort Personnel in Selected City Jails in the Province of Cebu
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67903/ijroms0522Keywords:
Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Escort Personnel, Persons Deprived of Liberty, Transcendental Phenomenology, Workplace ExperiencesAbstract
This study addressed the limited qualitative attention given to the lived experiences of Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) escort personnel in the Philippine correctional context, particularly the operational demands of escorting persons deprived of liberty outside controlled jail environments. It explored the experiences of BJMP escort personnel in performing their duties, the ways they cope with challenges, and their aspirations for improving service delivery. A qualitative transcendental phenomenological design was employed. Ten BJMP escort personnel assigned to selected city jails in Cebu Province participated through four in-depth interviews and one focus group discussion involving six participants. Participants were purposively selected using criteria requiring non-commissioned officer status, at least three years of escort-related experience, and current assignment in the selected city jails. Data were gathered through a validated semi-structured interview guide, audio recording with consent, and note-taking, then analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological approach. Forty-one cluster themes were synthesized into ten emergent themes. Positive experiences were represented by Honor Behind the Uniform, Guarding Through Unity, Discipline Beyond Duty, and Strength in Shared Experience, while challenges were reflected in Bearing the Weight of Responsibility and Enduring Amid Constraints. Coping was expressed through Standing Firm in Uncertainty and Anchored by Faith and Family, while aspirations centered on Pursuit of Professional Excellence and Preparedness Through Collective Support. The findings indicate that escort personnel derive fulfillment from competence, teamwork, discipline, and successful mission completion while simultaneously managing operational risks, resource limitations, and unpredictable field conditions. The study concludes that effective escort operations require sustained professional development, adequate logistical and personnel support, functional safety resources, teamwork, and institutional mechanisms that recognize personnel welfare and field-based needs.
Downloads
References
Andersen, J. P., Papazoglou, K., Koskelainen, M., Nyman, M., Gustafsberg, H., & Arnetz, B. B. (2015). Applying resilience promotion training among special forces police officers. SAGE Open, 5(2), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244015590446
Austin, Z., & Sutton, J. (2014). Qualitative research: Getting started. Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, 67(6), 436–440. https://doi.org/10.4212/cjhp.v67i6.1406
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall.
Biddle, B. J. (1986). Recent developments in role theory. Annual Review of Sociology, 12, 67–92. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.12.080186.000435
Breis, E. B. (2026). Factors contributing to stress on custodial officers of BJMP manned jail of Imus City towards stress management program. American Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Innovation, 5(3), 20–30. https://doi.org/10.54536/ajmri.v5i3.7040
Bureau of Jail Management and Penology. (n.d.). Institutional profile and jail statistical records (Danao City Jail and Bogo City Jail). BJMP Regional Office VII.
Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Segerstrom, S. C. (2010). Optimism. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(7), 879– 889. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.01.006
Cassiano, M. S., & Ricciardelli, R. (2023). Sources of stress among federal correctional officers in Canada. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 50(8), 1229–1251. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548231174900
Colaizzi, P. F. (1978). Psychological research as the phenomenologist views it. In R. S. Valle & M. King (Eds.), Existential-phenomenological alternatives for psychology (pp. 48–71). Oxford University Press.
Crawley, E. (2004). Doing prison work: The public and private lives of prison officers. Willan Publishing.
Ellison, J. M., & Caudill, J. W. (2020). Working on local time: Testing the job-demand-control-support model of stress with jail officers. Journal of Criminal Justice, 70, Article 101717. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2020.101717
Finn, P. (2000). Addressing correctional officer stress: Programs and strategies. National Institute of Justice. https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GOVPUB-J28-PURL-gpo141249
Finney, C., Stergiopoulos, E., Hensel, J., Bonato, S., & Dewa, C. S. (2013). Organizational stressors associated with job stress and burnout in correctional officers: A systematic review. BMC Public Health, 13, Article 82. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-82
Hackman, J. R. (1987). The design of work teams. In J. W. Lorsch (Ed.), Handbook of organizational behavior (pp. 315–342). Prentice Hall.
Husserl, E. (1931). Ideas: General introduction to pure phenomenology (W. R. Boyce Gibson, Trans.). George Allen & Unwin.
Katz, D., & Kahn, R. L. (1978). The social psychology of organizations (2nd ed.). Wiley.
Lambert, E. G., Hogan, N. L., & Griffin, M. L. (2007). The impact of distributive and procedural justice on correctional staff job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Journal of Criminal Justice, 35(6), 644–656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2007.09.001
Linton, R. (1936). The study of man. D. Appleton-Century Company.
McCraty, R., & Atkinson, M. (2012). Resilience training program reduces physiological and psychological stress in police officers. Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 1(5), 44–66. https://doi.org/10.7453/gahmj.2012.1.5.013
McGrath, J. E. (1964). Social psychology: A brief introduction. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Moustakas, C. E. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. SAGE Publications.
Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. (1990). Republic Act No. 6975: An act establishing the Philippine National Police under a reorganized Department of the Interior and Local Government, and for other purposes. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1990/12/13/republic-act-no-6975/
Parcon, J. R. D., & Nabe, N. C. (2025). Occupational stress and organizational climate as determinants of quality of work life among correction officers in Davao Penal Farm. International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i01.37290
Pargament, K. I., Feuille, M., & Burdzy, D. (2011). The Brief RCOPE: Current psychometric status of a short measure of religious coping. Religions, 2(1), 51–76. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel2010051
Ponce, D. L., Bulahan, D. J. P., Engnan, J. R., Alcordo, G. R., Daniel, E. C., & Cuevas, J. F., Jr. (2023). Issues and concerns of the jail officers in dealing with persons deprived of liberty: A phenomenological study. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 7(6), 197–204. https://doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2023.7617
Ricciardelli, R. (2019). Also serving time: Canada’s provincial and territorial correctional officers. University of Toronto Press.
Schaufeli, W. B., & Peeters, M. C. W. (2000). Job stress and burnout among correctional officers: A literature review. International Journal of Stress Management, 7(1), 19–48. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009514731657
Sonnentag, S., & Fritz, C. (2015). Recovery from job stress: The stressor-detachment model as an integrative framework. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(S1), S72–S103. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1924
Violanti, J. M., Charles, L. E., McCanlies, E., Hartley, T. A., Baughman, P., Andrew, M. E., Fekedulegun, D., Ma, C. C., Mnatsakanova, A., & Burchfiel, C. M. (2017). Police stressors and health: A state-of-the-art review. Policing: An International Journal, 40(4), 642–656. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-06-2016-0097
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 International Journal of Research on Multidisciplinary Studies
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
