No new inmates at prov'l jail due to congestion
The Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) is still not accepting prisoners from municipal police offices due to its congested cells.
Bobby Legaspi, CPDRC acting chief, said the facility currently houses 2,754 inmates when it was built to accommodate only 1,500 inmates.
“We have a proposed extension (of the building). The plans are already out,” Legaspi said yesterday.
Last August, the Provincial Government temporarily stopped accepting prisoners to address the congestion by converting parts of the facility into cells.
Last week, Gov. Hilario Davide III sacked Dr. Gil Macato as acting warden, following last week's raid by anti-narcotics agents that yielded several contraband.
Davide confirmed that Macato was relieved from his post last March 1 and that Legaspi, Capitol's security chief, was installed in his place.
Operatives from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7 and personnel of the Cebu Provincial Police Office and Central Command raided the jail in Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City last Feb. 28.
PDEA 7 operatives seized more than 80 cell phones; 100 disposable lighters; strips of tin foil; 19 packs of suspected shabu worth P30,000; cash amounting to P94,721; and a plastic bag of dried marijuana leaves from the inmates.
Davide had ordered the operation after receiving reports about several contraband being sneaked inside the jail.
Meanwhile, Legaspi confirmed that the jail is once again accepting visitors. About 20 to 30 policemen have been tapped to help 60 jail guards secure the facility.
“We might add additional personnel. We are looking at areas where we need to improve securities,” he said.
He said Capitol's committee on discipline and investigation will ask Macato to explain about the contraband seized during the raid.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) 7 has yet to release the results of its investigation when male inmates were ordered to strip naked during the raid.
Legaspi said they plan to invite a CHR 7 representative to be present in future greyhound operations.
“They (CHR) could join us so we would not be accused of (doing) anything wrong,” said Legaspi, adding that he saw nothing wrong with the security procedure.