Bigger septic tank eyed to rid city jail of foul smell

Most jail facilities in Cebu City and province are congested which resulted to health problems being suffered by inmates.
CDN file photo

A new and bigger septic tank will be installed at the male dormitory of the Cebu City Jail (CCJ) to address the complaints of nearby residents regarding the pungent smell emanating from the penal facility.

“Ang baho gyod ang gireklamo sa atong mga katawhan. So ang atong mabuhat kay mu-abag lang ta sa Cebu City Jail. (The foul smell is what our people are complaining. So what we can do is to help the Cebu City Jail,” said Councilor Dave Tumulak, the city’s deputy mayor on police matters.

On Tuesday, the City Council approved the resolution for the installation of an underground sewage tank in the CCJ during its regular session.

Tumulak said that the Cebu City government will be installing a bigger septic tank enough to accommodate the sewage needs of the congested city jail.

“Currently, the septic tanks at the jail can only accommodate 2,000 inmates. We have to extract its contents twice a week,” said Tumulak.

The jail facility has a current head count of 5,000 inmates, way above its holding capacity.

The resolution appropriates P2,608,614.50 for the construction of the septic tank at the CCJ-male dormitory.

Jail warden, Superintendent Reynante Rubio said that the complaint of nearby residents regarding the foul smell has been recurring since the term of his two predecessors.

“Our capacity is 1,800 and yet we are already housing 5,000 inmates. Our septic tanks can’t handle the numbers,” said Rubio.

The same problem is also reported in the female dormitory of the CCJ and at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC).

Rubio said that just recently, the Department of Public Services had extracted the contents from the current septic tanks and conducted a cleaning operation of canals and other waterways within the jail compound.