Cebu’s dancing inmates ‘home’ gets new jail guards

CEBU CITY – The Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), home of Cebu's world Famous, dancing inmates, has hired 19 newly trained jail guards.

The hiring of the jail guards is part of the Cebu provincial government's efforts to professionalize the image of the CDPRC jail guards particularly since the jail facility has already become a tourist attraction because of the YouTube-dancing inmates sensation.

The dancing inmates rose to global popularity after a video clip of their regular dancing routine was posted on the online video-sharing website.

CPDRC Consultant Marco Toral said training and hiring new guards is an integral part of Jail Warden Rome Manansala's leadership.

Aside from sporting the respectable-looking white side wall haircut, the new jail guards were trained to handle hostage-taking jail incidents. They are also licensed criminologists and graduates from some of Cebu’s criminology schools.

Notably, one of the jail guards is an ex-inmate who spent 11 years in jail. Toral also used to be a city jail inmate for seven years.

Meanwhile, Medellin town police are hot on the trail of four inmates who escaped from the district jail at dawn yesterday.

The four were jailed at a BJMP facility in Medellin but went missing during the early-morning check.

Police Officer 1 Winston Ensaje of the Medellin Police said BJMP personnel have not yet submitted an official report about the incident.

Initially, the police said the four escapees are facing drug-related charges.