Abueva: We don’t have a perfect facility

Smuggling of contraband still a major concern at Cebu City Jail

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CEBU CITY, Philippines — The “smuggling” of contraband at the male dormitory of the Cebu City Jail is something that they continue to work on, says Jail Superintendent Jose Abueva.

Abueva, who admitted that they do not have a perfect system, said they are prepared to accept should Mayor Edgardo Labella push through with his warning to stop the release of stipend to jail officials and personnel.

READ: Labella: Warden, guards to lose stipend if smuggling drugs in jail continues

He would respect the mayor’s decision.

“Our facility is very congested. We don’t have technological searching capability. We just rely on the human capability of our personnel which has limitation.. Kapoyon pud na sila man (they also get tired), unlike, kung naa ka (if you have) technology or equipment ma lessen ang (that would lessen the) workload,” Abueva said.

Their lack in manpower is another concern.

To date, Abueva said they only have 135 personnel manning the facility that now accommodates a total of 6,251 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).  At least 40 personnel are assigned per shift.

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Cebu City Jail’s male dormitory that is located in Barangay Kalunasan has 70 detention cells and is designed to accommodate around 2, 000 PDLs.  But the jail’s current headcount is now more than triple its supposed capacity.

However, despite their manpower and technological limitations, they continue to implement measures that will hopefully limit the presence of contraband at the jail facility.  One of the which is the continuous conduct of greyhound operations.

Abueva said they also coordinate with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) for assistance.

During their greyhound operation on Thursday, May 6, authorities confiscated at least P1 million worth of contraband that included illegal drugs, cellular phones, and improvised deadly weapons.

READ: P1.1M worth of drugs seized in Cebu City Jail raid

“Based on the intel report we received, jail management has initiated the planning of this activity since April pa as we follow the health protocols. PDEA representatives as well as some BJMP personnel [coming] from the region have undergone PCR test to ensure [compliance with] health protocols so that they can’t spread the virus in the jail facility before they can enter our facility,” Abueva added.

Abueva said that they are also on constant alert to lessen, if not stop, the entry of contrabands into the facility. / dcb