LEGASPI IN, MACATO OUT

The Cebu provincial jail, already burdened with almost double the number of inmates it is supposed to accommodate, yesterday lost its warden as it continues to be wracked with controversy over how it is being managed.

In light of the greyhound operation at dawn Tuesday that uncovered a variety of contrabands smuggled inside the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), Gov. Hilario Davide III yesterday ordered the relief of its acting jail warden, Dr. Gil Macato.

“I’m relieving him effective today of his duties as acting warden. I’m putting (in) Mr. Bobby Legaspi, (who will) take over the facility effective today,” the governor told Capitol reporters yesterday.

Legaspi is the head of Capitol’s Civil Security Unit (CSU) and was the one asked by Davide to coordinate the conduct of last Tuesday’s greyhound operation with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO).

Cebu Daily News tried but failed to reach Macato by phone yesterday. A text message sent to him was also left unanswered. The governor, too, was unable to reach Macato yesterday.

Davide said he received anonymous text messages last month, informing him that contrabands were still being smuggled inside CPDRC, allegedly allowed by prison guards who were in cahoots with the inmates.

‘First ring of defense’

Legaspi yesterday told reporters that his first step would be to ask the governor to call back the Provincial Public Safety Company (PPSC) to help secure the provincial jail, which currently houses 2,795 inmates or almost double its capacity of 1,500.

In the second half of last year, a 20-member team from the PPSC was deployed to CPDRC to augment the area’s security after a string of controversies hit the facility.

He said he hoped the same number of PPSC will again be sent to CPDRC as its “first ring of defense” against the entry of contraband into the provincial jail.

Davide has also said earlier he would want to ask both the PDEA and the CPPO to deploy their own personnel inside the penitentiary.

PDEA-7 Director Yogi Filemon Ruiz revealed he intentionally did not inform Macato about the greyhound operation as it was Davide who asked PDEA for a surprise check.

Ruiz said it will be up to Davide to file charges against the inmates who were in possession of cellphones or the jail guards suspected of conniving with prisoners.

Clad in full battle gear, PDEA-7 agents led by Ruiz raided the CPDRC compound in Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City.

The detainees were asked to remove their clothes and stay at the facility’s open air quadrangle as the agents, with the help of police operatives and members of the Armed Forces’ Central Command, searched the belongings and rooms of the inmates.

Among the contraband they seized were 76 cellular phones; 19 medium-size packs of shabu worth P30,000; a plastic containing marijuana leaves; assorted drug paraphernalia that include lighters, rolled tin foils, scissors, and a digital weighing scale; cash amounting to P92,000; and bladed weapons, three DVD players, a tablet, a laptop, a passbook with a deposit of more than P300,000, and bank transaction receipts.

There was no need to secure a search warrant from the court since it was Davide who gave permission for the surprise inspection, Ruiz said.

Barok cell finds

Of the cellular phones seized, three were found at the detention cell where suspected drug lord Alvaro “Barok” Alvaro, one of the top drug personalities in Cebu, has been staying.

A pack of shabu was also recovered inside the same detention cell where at least 10 inmates are also confined.

PDEA-7 is conducting an investigation to find out who owns the prohibited substance.

Ruiz said at least five inmates from whom the packs of shabu were found are facing charges for violating Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

The surprise inspection was staged barely three weeks after two signal jammers were installed at the CPDRC to ensure that inmates can no longer communicate outside; and six months after the facility was raided by the police.

One passbook recovered from an inmate associated with Barok showed a deposit of P300,000 and a withdrawal of P500,000 — all on the same day.

Ruiz refused to identify the inmate while an investigation is being conducted.

Follow the leader

Senior Supt. Eric Noble, director of CPPO, said he has no problem sending PPSC personnel to secure the provincial jail.

“Whatever the boss says, in this case Governor Davide, we will follow. We will be very happy to help the provincial government do its job against illegal drugs,” he said.

According to Legaspi, he will also revive Task Force CPDRC, a dormant group composed of the department heads from the Provincial General Services Office (PGSO) and the Human Resource Management Office that was tasked to review, audit, and assess the state of the CPDRC, its system, processes, procedures, personnel, policies, and overall management and administration.

Legaspi said that under his management, there will be stricter inspection of bags and packages being brought inside jail, including those brought in by prison guards and administration officers and personnel.

Legaspi added he had considered relieving the jail guards but it is not possible at this time.

“That came in mind but the thing is, who do we replace them with? That would be a good idea to start fresh again, but ideally, it’s hard to do that. We’ll look into that. Either that or just put new members inside, and then those inside that we suspect, move them outside so you know, they won’t have personal contact with the inmates,” he explained.

Legaspi said he will wait for the governor’s letter to be handed to Macato first before he will start reporting at the jail facility.

Davide declined to comment on Macato’s performance as jail warden pending his talk with him but stressed he realized that the warden’s job is not easy.

“Despite the measures that we’ve taken, contrabands still managed to get inside the jail,” he lamented.

The governor said he had thought that with Macato at the helm of CPDRC, he would be able to clean the jail.

But even if he failed, the governor said he understood that Macato must have tried but might have found it hard to stop the deep-seated irregularities at the jail.

Still, he added, he felt that he needed to provide CPDRC with a leadership who can effect the needed change at the jail.

TAGS: Cebu, Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, cops, CPDRC, CPPO, drugs, police, raid, Yogi Filemon Ruiz