Skimmed through with interest last Monday’s column by Gerard Pareja about the so-called “bromance” among inmates of the Cebu City Jail and the Cebu Provincial Detention Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) in light of last Sunday dawn’s raid that yielded P4 million in cash, sachets of shabu and contraband like flat screen TV and cell phones.
The “bromance” stemmed perhaps from the front page photo of Cebu Daily News which showed hundreds, even thousands of male inmates lying on mats in the floor and scores of them clutching each other like lovers.
Not that the photo indicates any romantic/sexual relationship between them though anyone who’s watched the Netflix TV series “Orange Is The New Black” or read through novels like “If Tomorrow Comes” by Sidney Sheldon knows that it’s not unusual for inmates of the same gender to become lovers or treat each other as such.
Then again, such relationships exist precisely because of the harshness of prison life which can change anyone who’s been staying behind bars for the worse or better.
And based on last Sunday dawn’s raid, it looks more like it’s for the worse as prison guards are shown to be part of the existing conspiracy to deal drugs within the foul-smelling, congested concrete jungles that are the Cebu City Jail and the CPDRC.
Thus any homosexual relations between inmates are probably the least of the concerns of Cebu City and provincial officials in light of the discovery of these cash, drugs and contraband.
If anything the bigger concern lies in identifying who among these inmates are responsible for operating the drug trade inside the cell and isolate them from the general prison population.
Cebu City Jail Warden Johnson Calub had been sacked due to the discovery of these drugs, cash and contraband but what’s the assurance that his replacement will do a better job?
Local officials can fire the prison guards and the wardens and replace them with others who will either be helpless or be seduced into conspiring with the inmates who operate the illegal drug trade in exchange for a hefty retainer in the neighborhood of P200,000 a week.
The same can be said of those Special Action Forces (SAF) troopers now assigned to stand guard at the National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City to secure those millionaire drug lords that continue to wallow in luxury even behind bars.
What’s to prevent them from being tempted to conspire with the drug lords in order to allow the flow drugs and drug money within the four walls of the national penitentiary despite the promise of President Rodrigo Duterte to double their salaries?
Then again, we shouldn’t lose faith in our police, our law enforcement agencies and the military in staying steadfast and committed in their duty to serve and protect our interests which include stamping out the drug menace at the source whether it be out in the streets, in the mansions of those drug peddlers or in the stank confines of their cells.
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Last Sunday’s report about the prison raids also reminded me of that 1990 Mafia movie “Goodfellas” by Martin Scorsese in which, as narrated by actor Ray Liotta who played real-life ex-gangster Henry Hill in the film, detained mob bosses managed to eat pasta and survive prison time quite nicely while the rest of the prison population had to make do with what passes for food as delivered by their guards.
Prison life in the US is certainly no vacation but compared to what one former prison official described as a “penological monstrosity” that is the prison system in the Philippines, it’s a little bit better.
Last Monday’s Provincial Board (PB) session also exposed the alleged abuses committed by Capitol consultant on jail matters Marco Toral that supposedly include charging money for “kubols” or private rooms inside the jails.
When asked in a radio interview about this and the allegation that family members were allowed to stay for five days, Toral denied this and explained that the five-day stay of family members, including his visitors who attended his birthday party last December, were part of a special program that allowed prisoners to spend the holidays with their families during Christmas.
I read about this and yet, the allegations raised against Toral and Asst. Warden Romeo Manansala merit investigation. The raid also exposed serious flaws in Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III’s governance style and circle of advisers and friends he tapped to serve with him in government.
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