■ VICE PRESIDENT WANTS PROBLEM OF OVERSTAYING FEMALE INMATES ADDRESSED

Female inmates in Cebu who have been languishing in jail may have found help in the form of Vice President Leni Robredo. Robredo said she will inform the Supreme Court about their plight, especially those whose punishment, if convicted, is shorter than the time they have already spent inside. The vice president said she will urge the high court to fast-track the disposition of cases of female inmates so those who have been overstaying can be released immediately. Robredo, a former lawyer-volunteer of Sandigan, an NGO, used to work with the Public Attorney’s Office before she entered politics. She said she wants to maintain her advocacy of helping people in jail.

Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo yesterday said she will inform the Supreme Court (SC) that there are women inmates whose punishment if convicted by the court is way below their jail time.

Robredo discovered this after she visited and talked yesterday with the inmates at the Cebu City Jail female dormitory in Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City together with Jail Supt. Stephanie Fernandez Salazar and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) 7 Director Dennis Rocamora.

Robredo, a lawyer, who had worked with the Public Attorney’s Office before she joined the government and a former volunteer of Sandigan, said she wants to maintain her advocacy of helping people in prison.

Robredo said she will urge the SC to speed up the disposition of cases of female inmates so those who are overstaying will be released right away.

Lorelei, an inmate, said that some of them have been in jail for three to nine years already but their cases are not moving. The inmates said the facility is congested and the water is supply is irregular.

Robredo said there is a need to increase BJMP’s budget after noting that the dormitory, which was built for 62 inmates, now houses 454. /