Revamp at provincial jail looms

Carl dela Cruz, a prison guard of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) inventories prohibited items which were confiscated from inmates during a greyhound operation conducted last month inside the jail facility by members of the Cebu Provincial Police Office.
CDN FILE PHOTO

CEBU Governor Hilario Davide III has just about had it.

Following a string of greyhound operations conducted at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) which led to the confiscation of several contraband items, Davide warned that from henceforth, jail guards must do their work well or lose their jobs.

Recent raids at the CPDRC resulted to the confiscation of cellular phones, lighters, shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) paraphernalia and cash transaction receipts amounting to several thousands of pesos.

A prison guard identified as Reccel Andales, a Capitol job order employee for less than two years was also nabbed on the evening of July 1 after he was caught with a paper bag containing two rolls of tin foil and 100 pieces of assorted lighters.

Initial investigation showed that Andales was asked by three male inmates to smuggle in the drug paraphernalia for a fee of P2,000.

“Among pagduda na naa gihapon mag gamitan diha for personal use and maybe in conspiracy with provincial guards there” said Davide.

(We suspect that there are still those who are into illegal drugs for their personal use and maybe in conspiracy with provincial guards there.)

There are 104 personnel of the provincial government assigned at the CPDRC. Of the number, 63 are prison guards while the others are job order and casual employees of the provincial capitol.

As prohibited items continued to slip into the province-owned jail facility, Davide considers the recruitment of new jail guards to replace those who will be found conspiring with inmates.

“We have to recruit then og moabot ang time nga mahutdan og guardia. Pero pilion natong magpabilin ang mga tarong unya pangtangtangon nato ang mga badlongon diha,” Davide said.

(We will keep the good jail guards and relieve the scalawags. We will then recruit new ones to replace those who will be fired.)

Last June 22, the intelligence branch of the Cebu Provincial Police Office and the Provincial Public Safety Company (PPSC) seized money remittance records and a list of names during a surprise raid at the provincial jail.

The records recovered by the police showed cash transactions ranging from P40,000 to P70,000 sent from CPDRC to a money remittance outlet daily.

The transactions were all traced to an inmate identified as PO2 Antonio Aguisanda, a policeman jailed in CPDRC since 2014 for robbery charges.

Davide said greyhound operations will continue on a regular basis until all illegal operations inside the jail are stomped out.

“Bisag mini greyhound lang ba, dili g’yud undangan. Kung dili man galing ma-eliminate ang drugs diha at least ma-reduce gyud,” Davide said.

(We will not stop doing greyhound operations even small ones. We may not be able to totally eliminate illegal drugs there but, at least, we will be sure to reduce it.)

Davide also hoped that the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) will take over the management of provincial jails in the Philippines.

The Cebu governor supports a bill filed in 2015 by Surigao del Norte representative, Francisco Matugas, which is aimed to create an integrated approach to jail management in the country.

House Bill No. 2217 seeks to amend Section 61 of Republic Act No. 6975 or the Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990 which placed all provincial jails under the control of Local Government Units (LGUs) and municipal and city jails under the management of the BJMP.

“Dili expertise sa province ang pagpadagan (jails) but we can subsidize and help the BJMP like gastos sa pagkaon,” Davide said.

(It is not the expertise of the provincial government to run jails but we can subsidize and help BJMP like spending for the inmates’ food.)