Second Chance staff face probe for contraband mess

TUMULAK

Cebu City Hall is now investigating all personnel inside the Operation Second Chance Center (OSCC) after several contraband, including marijuana and shabu, were recovered in a surprise operation in the facility.

Councilor Dave Tumulak, deputy mayor on police matters, said they suspect that some personnel inside the facility allowed these prohibited items inside the facility, a shelter for children in conflict with the law (CICLs).

“We have to strengthen our security for the facility. We are now having an investigation on the personnel especially the house parents. We suspect there may be a connivance with the house parents or employees,” Tumulak said.

Last Wednesday afternoon, the city conducted a surprise saturation drive inside the OSCC with personnel from the Guadalupe police precinct and the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO).

Among those recovered were one small, clear sachet containing shabu, a pack of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, improvised weapons, lighters, cellphone chargers, paddles, ropes, belts, one cellphone and one pocket Wi-Fi unit.

There are no jail guards from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP-7) inside the OSCC.

Starting last April 1, the Cebu City government has taken over the overall operation and management of OSCC. The city refused to accept CICLs or minor offenders from other local governments.

Tumulak said last Wednesday’s saturation drive was the first to be done by the city. He said the city will already conduct regular, random searches inside the facility.

“Our house parents there are all liable. Why are these contraband inside the dormitories? We don’t want this to happen again. We want to ensure that our minor offenders are safe as well as our employees there,” Tumulak said.

He said employees that were proven to be involved in allowing contraband inside the facility will be fired.

“How come they know already what are the possible improvised weapons? There may be factions there waiting to get into a riot. So we were able to prevent that. We want proper rehabilitation of our minor offenders,” Tumulak said.

During the operation, Tumulak said the packs of shabu and marijuana were thrown out from one of the dorms.

He said the cellphone and pocket Wi-Fi were found buried on the ground inside the OSCC compound. Tumulak said they found a suspicious patch on the ground and decided to unearth it.

He said they suspect that the Wi-Fi may be used by some of the inmates in the nearby Cebu City Jail male dormitory.

Sought for comment, OSCC executive director Merlinda Metante vowed that they will also strengthen security inside the facility.

Metante was not around during last Wednesday’s operation as she was attending a seminar.

“We will conduct regular greyhound operations and inspections in our dorms in order to avoid this incident from happening again,” she said, adding that they conduct morning inspections of the dormitories.

The OSCC has 40 civilian personnel including administration staff, house parents and civilian security personnel guarding 172 minor offenders. The number went down since April when there were 225 of them.