BAROK IN DETENTION. Confessed drug lord Alvaro “Barok” Alvaro is being locked up in an isolation cell at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, where he is held after his surrender at the National Bureau of Investigation in Bohol last June. (CDN FILE PHOTO).
NOT even solitary confinement in an isolation cell at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) could stop alleged big-time drug personality Alvaro “Barok” Alvaro from communicating with the world outside.
There is always the cellular phone, which though banned is believed to somehow manage to slip into the provincial jail.
To address the problem, Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III said that they are in the process of canvassing the price of signal jammers, a device that blocks transmission or reception of signals by creating some form of interference in cell phone use and as a result, a cell phone user will either lose the signal or experience a significant loss of signal quality.
Davide hoped to install the signal jammers in CPDRC soon in order to increase security measures there as several big-time drug personalities were detained in the facility.
CPDRC acting warden Dr. Gil Macato said that the use of communication gadgets among inmates could not be ruled out until signal jammers are installed in the facility.
Reports had earlier surfaced that Barok may still be operating his drug network from inside prison by secretly communicating with his men outside.
“Kanang gadget, di jud ko ana kakuan kay nagsunod ra baya ko ana sa ni-exist na diha pero as much as possible, gitanggal gyud na namo tanan communication, tanan namong makit-an, na mi na- confiscate, (Those gadgets had been there even before I assumed, but as much as possible, we are taking out all forms of communication. We confiscate everything we see),” he said.
“So dili pud ko ka rule out na totally wala na gyud communication until nga naa ta’y signal jammer jud. (But we cannot totally rule out the presence of communication until we get a signal jammer),” Macato added.
Barok is currently in isolation, with all privileges stripped off including visitation rights, with only the jail guards on duty to talk to.
However, with the recent reports, Macato said that they will look into the issue and closely monitor the movements of Barok even while he’s inside the isolation cell.
Last Monday, police arrested Jeppe Rosal, 29, of San Francisco town on Camotes Island; Arnel Mata, 26, and his 17-year-old relative, both from Danao City, who were believed to be remnants of the illegal drugs ring ran by Barok, a top drug suspect who surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Tagbilaran City last June.
Rosal was tagged as the gunman in the murder of Senior Inspector Jonas Tajanlangit, chief of police of Poro town on Camotes Islands last April 4.
He is also being investigated for an assassination plot against Danao City police officers.
According to the Philippine National Police, a text message, possibly from Barok, was retrieved from a cell phone recovered from the arrested suspects.
Davide has called for an investigation on reports that Barok still continued to communicate with his men.
“We will not really tolerate that. He’s a menace to society,” Davide said.
Last October, the Provincial Public Safety Company (PPSC) of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) confiscated a portable DVD player inside Barok’s isolation room after he was caught watching an action movie with 10 other inmates.
About 20 elements from the PPSC were, at the time, stationed at CPDRC amid reports that a certain group was poised to spring out Barok and that contraband continued to slip inside the province-run jail.