BJMP-6 recommends raps vs warden, 9 jail personnel
The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-6 (BJMP-6) Regional Investigation and Prosecution Division has recommended the filing of administrative cases against the warden of the Iloilo District Jail (IDJ) in Pototan town of Iloilo, and his nine custodial personnel.
The case stemmed from the recovery, during a greyhound operation, of eight units of mobile phones and an iPad tablet at the jail's Special Intensive Care Area (SICA), which houses high-profile and high-risk inmates.
The BJMP-6's Regional Investigation and Prosecution Division has found probable cause for the filing of the cases against Superintendent John Montero, IDJ warden, for conduct grossly prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
The BJMP-6 also recommended the filing of charges against nine IDJ personnel for their failure to intercept, confiscate, or prevent the entry of contrabands into the jail.
The nine are Senior Jail Officer 2 Garry Paniza, Jail Officer 2s Alexis Paniza, and Val Lacabe, and JO1s Francis Ballador, Joel Legario, Robert Borlado, Enrico Espiritu Jr., July Posadas, and Abel Blancaflor.
Senior Jail Officer 3 (SJO3) Leo Lacerna, BJMP-6 investigation section chief, said they could be guilty of selective imposition of jail policy, which prohibits inmates from owning or carrying mobile phones, computers, tablets, and the likes, while inside the jail compound.
Personnel from BJMP-6 conducted the surprise inspection at the IDJ last week of April this year, after receiving information that one of its inmates - Jesus "Jing-Jing" Espinosa Jr. of City Proper, Iloilo City - had been active on social media, particularly Facebook.
Espinosa, considered a high-value drug personality, was once tagged as the right-hand man of slain Western Visayas top drug personality Melvin Odicta Sr. Based on the scrutiny of the items confiscated, one of the mobile phones - a Cherry Mobile analog phone - belonged to Espinosa.
On the other hand, the tablet was apparently owned by former Barangay Chairman Jolly Peñasales of Rizal in La Paz district of Iloilo City. Peñasales, while still the village chief, was arrested in a buybust operation in August last year, after selling a sachet of shabu for P15,000 to a police asset. Also seized from him were two .9mm Browning pistols, 23 ammunition, and four more sachets of shabu.
While Montero denied knowing about the mobile phones, he admitted that the iPad tablet was in consideration for Peñasales who claimed to have sleep problems and used the gadget for games. The warden claimed that the tablet is without a SIM card and the IDJ had no wifi connections.
The BJMP-6 finished its investigation on April 30 and submitted it to the BJMP national office for perusal the following week. It will be the national office's discretion now whether to concur or junk BJMP-6's recommendations. In the meantime, Montero remains as IDJ warden.
Aside from the found gadgets, Montero is also in trouble after 16 sets of computer units for video games were discovered inside the IDJ, during an inspection the second week of May. These were placed in a common area near the basketball court, and a coin will be inserted into a slot for a person to play a game.
Montero countered that the video game units were for recreation purposes, but Lacerna pointed out that there's a BJMP memorandum for a total ban on video games and the likes. "It could fuel fights among inmates," he added. Also, "who will take care of the electric bill?
Aside from video games, Montero was also questioned for erecting kubol, or temporary shelters, inside the facility, but he claimed that these were for the use of lawyers when talking to their inmateclients, and not for inmates' private use.