With kid gloves

When I heard that Gov. Hilario Davide III recently chastised officials of the provincial jail, I thought to myself, finally, he is acting like a leader.

So I leafed through the pages of the three dailies to read about the “momentous” event and was dismayed when I couldn’t find anything about gubernatorial histrionics.

What? No pencil-throwing. No reducing a jail guard to tears.

Mind you, I wasn’t there when Davide met with personnel of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) last Monday so I really don’t know the real score. Maybe the governor did throw a hissy fit. Or maybe not. But it could have happened.

Anyone for that matter would, at least, have been miffed if they discovered that illegal drugs and contraband continue to proliferate in the jail.

I mean, it’s almost like a slap in the face of President Duterte’s administration, which has been and is waging a deadly war against the drug menace. Or an insult to all the families who lost a member to this modern-day pogrom.

In fairness to the governor, the problem is not endemic to the CPDRC. And as far as I know, drugs are not being manufactured inside the provincial jail since I have yet to hear of an arrested drug suspect claiming that he got his drugs from there.

I also understand that trying to keep drugs out is next to impossible. After all, jail guards can’t prevent a worker from clandestinely couriering on the side. Or examine each and every orifice of everyone visiting the inmates. (They can, but they probably wouldn’t want to. It would all depend on appearance.)

I guess it’s a consolation that Davide has finally acknowledged the problem and is doing something to address it. So what did the governor do? Let’s see. He challenged jail personnel to “‘step up’ on their drive to make the jail truly drug- and contraband-free.” Well, isn’t that precious. But here’s the clincher. A recent search yielded large quantities of illegal drugs and contraband inside the facility. Hence, last Monday’s meeting.

So did the governor threaten to “call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” Or something to that effect?

Of course, he did no such thing. Instead Davide announced that he was withholding the P10,000 anniversary incentives of the jail personnel. “To teach them a lesson,” he said.

Davide gave CPDRC personnel until the end of the week to provide him with information on who are involved in the smuggling of illegal drugs and contraband. He assured them that they would be treated with strict confidentiality. He also said he would consider their request to improve living conditions inside the facility.

Definitely no chastising there.