Six provincial jail guards are now implicated as drug trade facilitators inside the Cebu Provincial Rehabilitation and Detention Center (CPDRC).
CPDRC jail warden Romeo Manansala submitted a confidential two-page report on the initial results of the investigation of several jail personnel following the confiscation of drug paraphernalia in one of the inmates’ cells two weeks ago.
Manansala said that he asked four of his personnel to conduct individual background investigation on the facility’s jail guards.
When the individual data were collated, the results all pointed out to the same six persons. Manansala, however, refused to divulge their names.
“We have reasons to suspect it was them and the initial suspicions meshed with the results of the recent background investigation conducted by my personnel,” he said.
Among those who conducted individual investigation were the administrative officer, security officer, intelligence officer and roving inspector.
According to Manansala, all six manifested suspicious behavior causing them to believe they were really involved in the drug trade inside.
“They act differently inside the center. Some of them don’t conduct inspections anymore, others go on duty drunk,” he said.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) last week conducted a surprise greyhound operation but yielded no drugs.
Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Commission (CPADAC) Executive Director Joey Herrera believes that an insider might have warned the inmates to hide their stuff just in time.
Manansala said one out of the six suspected guards was on duty during the raid.
Late last month, elements of the Liloan Police arrested suspected drug pusher Jocelyn Correa and her helper.
Correa told police she got her supply of illegal drugs from her brother Allan Pilapil who is an inmate of the CPDRC inmate.
In an investigation, Allan squealed that a relative, Gino Pilapil, who is detained in cell 115 was his supplier.
Manansala said the six guards are still on duty. While investigation is still ongoing, they might be temporarily reassigned to different areas.
“But this is going to make it more difficult for us at the center because we are really undermanned,” said Manansala.
Manansala, however, said that once GDS Security Agency contract will be signed by Capitol, blue guards can augment the security personnel at the center.
The facility already houses more than 2,000 inmates with only 60 jail guards deployed.
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