Program to decongest Cebu City Jail resumes

TO FREE up the crammed City Jail, the Cebu City government will resume the two-year-old program called “Operation Decongestion” starting next.

Cebu City jail currently has over 2,600 inmates though it was designed to house a maximum of 900 inmates only.

“There is a dire need for us to resume the program, especially with its situation now. The jail is congested, and it has many health and safety implications for the inmates, and we don’t want that,” said Cebu City Acting Mayor Edgar Labella.

Labella, who also chairs the Cebu City Police Coordinating and Advisory Council (PCAC), said that the increasing congestion in Cebu City Jail is happening because of delayed court cases and the slow pace of justice system.

According to Labella, the jail is still holding inmates who have already overstayed their sentence, or those with probationable sentences. Probationable sentences can be identified based on the circumstances of their arrest, which include voluntary surrender and pleas of guilt.

“These can count as violations of their human rights. This is why we are reinforcing Operation Decongestion again,” Labella added.

Operation Decongestion allows training and education for the “professional and literate” inmates to become paralegals.

As paralegals, they can help speed up the process of fixing court dates and help identify which inmates pass certain criterion so they can be released already.

“This program is in pursuant of the principle that our penal system should not be punitive and afflictive, but reformatory and corrective. Every person deserves a second chance, and an opportunity to be assimilated once again to mainstream society,” Labella remarked.

Operation Decongestion has trained 25 to 30 inmates who are now paralegals while the program was running.

Many of them have been released but continue to help the inmates, especially those who are overstaying their sentence.

Labella said the city government are resuming the program since its original proponent, Supt. Johnson Calub, is being reinstated as Cebu City Jail Warden.

Calub was Cebu City’s jail warden in the year 2011 until mid-2015 before he was transferred to the Lapu-Lapu City Jail.

“Calub is the only one who can continue the decongestion program. When he left for Lapu-Lapu, the program was temporarily stalled because he has all the modules and program system details. He is the only one capable of pursing the program,” Labella said.

Cebu City Jail had zero escapee under Calub’s leadership. Calub pushed for the Operation Decongestion in 2013.

Calub will be replacing Jail Supt. Jessie Calumpang, who was installed as Cebu City Jail warden last July 7.