Provincial jail open to mandatory testing of inmates

Cebu City jail inmates looked worried as Cebu City jail inspect the cell of one of their own.

THE Provincial Jail is open to conducting mandatory drug testing on all its inmates as soon as they receive clearance from the Provincial Legal Office to do so.

“We will certainly do the drug test to our detainees if they will be given a go-signal by the Provincial Legal Office,” acting Provincial Warden Roberto “Bobby” Legaspi told reporters yesterday.

The proposal for mandatory drug testing came from the Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Office (CPADAO) whose chief Carmen Remedios Durano-Meca said they were requested by jails from the province to conduct testing on their inmates.

“We don’t know the legal aspect of this proposal. The mandate for mandatory drug tests is only limited to government officials. That’s why it is up to the legal office of the province to say yes or no,” Meca said.

If the proposal is cleared by the Provincial Legal Office, Meca said the province will spend for the tests with assistance from the regional office of the Department of Health (DOH-7).

Legaspi said inmates who test positive may face additional sanctions such as criminal charges.

“You know, after the recent Greyhound (operation), I think it’s also good for our inmates to be tested of illegal drug use,” he said.

Legaspi expressed dissatisfaction over the jail’s security measures after last Tuesday’s Greyhound operation yielded illegal drugs worth P236,000, and P18,800 cash proceeds from illegal gambling.

But Legaspi said the drug hoard doesn’t confirm the existence of a drug laboratory inside the facility.

“A laboratory is so easy to identify if it exists inside just by its residual wastes,” he said.

Last Tuesday’s Greyhound operation was staged by the Cebu Provincial Police Office and the Provincial Public Safety Company in response to reports that two kilos of shabu were smuggled inside the jail.

During a task force meeting on jail concerns, Legaspi said he plans to fire 10 jail guards and close the jail canteen, which they suspect is being used as a front for the illegal drug trade in the jail.

He said inmates will receive food rations “so they won’t have to depend on the jail canteen.” Legaspi said they are hesitant on abolishing the Cebu Provincial Jail cooperative which operates the canteen.

He said the cooperative provides recreational and livelihood programs for inmates.