THE Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) has a new “mayor de mayores” or “bosyo.”
Whichever name he’s called, 51-year-old Nestor Catipay is the new CPDRC head of inmates beginning Friday.
A native of Aloguinsan town, some 59 kms. southwest of Cebu City, Catipay has been in the detention facility for 13 years since 2004 on murder-kidnapping charges.
According to Governor Hilario Davide III, Catipay commands the respect of the inmates and was chosen by them to replace Lito Granada who was shipped out to the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa last week.
“I just read the recommendation. If he’s the choice of the inmates, then so be it for as long as he has the respect of the prisoners. I asked Mr. (Roberto) Legaspi if he commands the respect of the inmates and he confirmed. That’s very important,” Davide said in Cebuano. Legaspi is the CPDRC officer in charge.
Other nominees
Initial names nominated by the inmates were rejected outright by provincial officials after the detainees wanted controversial prisoners Bienvinido Noel, jailed on murder charges, and self-confessed drug lord Alvaro “Barok” Alvaro to lead them.
Noel arrived at the facility in November 2010 and reportedly enjoyed special privileges such as his wife having free access to the facility without submitting to regular inspections.
Noel made news back in 2015 after he cracked his heel bone from a fall that he sustained while playing basketball inside the facility and was brought to the Cebu Doctors Hospital under an alias.
Alvaro entered the facility in June 2016 after he surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation following the death of fellow drug suspect Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz who was killed in a police operation in Las Piñas.
Considered one of Central Visayas’ top drug lords and reportedly Diaz’s second-in-command, Alvaro’s name figured prominently in the news when contraband items were found hidden in his cell during a greyhound operation conducted in August, prompting authorities to believe that he was still very much in contact with the outside world.
Legaspi explained that they turned down the first list as they wanted someone to lead the inmates who was not high-profile and worked well with the CPDRC administration.