CPDRC lifts suspension of visits

The Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) has restored the visiting privilege of about 3,541 inmates last Wednesday, a jail official confirmed yesterday.

CPDRC deputy warden Miguel Audisti said that to avoid the jail visit ban, inmates need to cooperate and follow the house rules.

“Every prohibited item should be turned over to us to avoid being collared because it is in our operation manual,” Audisti said.

The Cebu Provincial Government earlier suspended the visiting privilege following the discovery of cell phones from high-profile inmates Leodegreco “Greco” San- chez and Joavan Fernandez, adopted son of Talisay City Councilor Socrates Fernandez.

Following the restoration of the visiting rights, Sanchez and Fernandez are being closely watched to ensure their safety.

Audisti said they anticipate that there might be some inmates who may attempt to harm Sanchez and Fernandez because of the jail visit suspension.

Sanchez’s sister, former Provincial Board Member Grecilda “Gigi” Sanchez-Zaballero, had slammed the suspension of the visiting privilege and criticized CPDRC Task Force Member Roberto Legaspi for blaming her brother’s possession of a mobile phone as the cause of the suspension.

She later met with Gov. Hilario Davide and held a closeddoor meeting in his office for about an hour.

It was Legaspi who announced last Monday the governor’s decision to suspended the inmates’ visiting rights after mobile phones were recovered from Sanchez and Fernandez.

Mobile phones are considered as “contrabands” that are banned inside the jail facility. Sanchez and Fernandez were then placed on isolation as a penalty.