Labella: Warden, guards to lose stipend if smuggling drugs in jail continues
This file photo courtesy of the Cebu City PIO shows a portion of the Cebu City Jail.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella is not pleased with the recent results of a greyhound operation or surprise inspection at the Cebu City Jail where illegal drugs smuggled into the jail were confiscated.
The mayor said that if the smuggling would continue under the watch of the current jail personnel, then they would lose the allowances that the city government had been providing them.
Although the mayor could not specify the amount given to each jail warden and guards, he said the allowance was provided to them as assistance similar to what the city provided to the police force.
As of 2016 records, the city government is providing at least P4,000 to City Jail and Operation Second Chance personnel, but this may vary for every position.
Still, the mayor said that if the City Jail would continue to harbor illegal drugs and the smuggling problem would not be resolved, then there would be no way for the personnel to deserve the allowances.
“We will continue for now, but we should give them a stern warning that they should be on guard on what the people inside the jail are doing. It is a warning, I am reminding the BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology) to not let their guards down because we cannot tolerate that,” Labella said.
“If that continues, one of the consequences is to cancel their allowances if they have not done their jobs recently,” said the mayor in a phone conference.
Labella: Charges to also be filed if …
The mayor instructed the warden to make sure there was no conspiracy between the jail guards and the inmates in allowing the smuggling of the illegal drugs and to make sure that if a jail guard would be caught conspiring with an inmate, he would be investigated immediately.
He warned any jail guard that would conspire with the inmates in smuggling illegal drugs into the jail that they would not only lose their allowance, but they would also be facing charges for aiding this smuggling activity.
“I have instructed that City Legal Office to investigate the possibility that jail guards are conspiring with inmates and to file charges if necessary,” Labella said.
For now, he is encouraging the City Jail personnel to step up in watching over the jail facility or else they will lose the assistance of the city government.
/dbs
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