Fishnets to divide OSCC, City Jail

Inmates at the Cebu City Jailmale dormitory are allegedly using hand signals to communicate with the minor offenders at the Operation Second Chance Center in Barangay Kalunasan to smuggle illegal drugs into the facility.

Councilor David Tumulak, deputy mayor on police matters, said that the city jail inmates are using the minors to bring in contrabands.

“I visited the Operations Second Chance last week and recorded the actual hand signals of the inmates to the female minor offenders to the male offenders,” he said.

The OSCC is a correctional facility for Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL).

To stop this, Tumulak said the city government will install fishnets to serve as additional walling structures between the OSCC and the city jailmale dormitory.

He said that matted steel will also be placed at the windows of the OSCC's rooms since inmates are putting out their hands for the signal.

He said it is one of the measures to provide safety to minor offenders and the inmates and to prevent them from communicating each other.

“Ipasa sa mga bata then katong mga lawless elements nga who wanted to sneak contrabands inside the City Jail, ilang contact by means of hand signal ang atong mga bata diri sa second chance. Ang second chance ngabata, dunay threat ma receive, mo hand signal pod sa city jail,” he said.

Last Monday, at least 11 residents at the OSCC started a commotion by breaking out of their detention cell. Seven of them will soon be transferred to the City Jail since they are no longer minors.

As of now, the OSCC houses 178 juvenile delinquents attended to by 36 employees of the center who serve as house parents.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña said congestion may be a factor for what had happened last Monday.He said court judges are to be blamed since other minor offenders from different local government units will be committed to the city's OSCC.

“So, congestion has to do with it. It's not the only reason but I'm sure it has something to do with it,” the mayor said.

Osmeña said there are minor offenders from cities of LapuLapu, Talisay, Mandaue, Carcar, and Toledo and the municipalities of Consolacion, Minglanilla, Barili, San Remigio, Badian, Alcantara, Liloan, and Cordova.