Police stations 'can transfer' prisoners to other stations

Police will not stop their campaign against illegal drugs even though they might not have a place to detain arrested suspects.

Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, Police Regional Office 7 director, said they are finding ways to solve the problem of congested detention cells in municipal stations in Cebu Province.

The lockup cells of Cordova and Liloan police stations are congested with more than 60 and 90 detainees, respectively. In Cordova, some male detainees share a cell with female inmates.

Taliño said a police station can move detainees to another station, which has a larger deten- tion cell and fewer prisoners.

“The problem is that the arresting police officers have the responsibility,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) will accept new inmates from municipal police stations, but only those who have commitment orders, said Gov. Hilario Davide III.

He said they will send 14 prisoners to the National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City on March 14, including Lito Granada, the overall head of CPDRC inmates or “bosyo.”

A court convicted Granada, an inmate since 2001, of rape and sentenced him to life imprisonment. In 2015, an inmate attacked Granada while he was sleeping.

In Cebu, detainees from town police stations are transferred to CPDRC in Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City if they have pending cases in courts. The Provincial Government manages the facility and the warden is directly answerable to the governor.

CPDRC had stopped accepting inmates last August after its population ballooned to more than 3,000. Its minimum capacity is only 1,500 inmates.

The facility currently has 2,754 inmates.

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology manages the jails in Cebu City, Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu City, Talisay City, Toledo City, Carcar City and Medellin.