Tacloban jail a 'drop-off' point for drugs
TACLOBAN CITY — The district jail here has become a drop-off point for illegal drugs and other contraband, but jail warden Supt. Peter Bongat expressed optimism that illegal activities within the facility will be curbed.
Over the last few weeks, regular raids in the jail resulted in the confiscation of contraband items and the arrest of a woman with 94 grams of suspected shabu stuffed in her genitals. But the shady deals within the jail seem just persistent. In fact, illegal drugs and other contraband were seized in one of the detention cells during another round of raid last Monday.
"Based on our investigation, lumalabas talaga na isa itong Tacloban City jail na bagsakan ng shabu, according to information from other players now detained at the Leyte provincial jail,” said Bongat.
“From the series of arrests of visitors trying to sneak in contraband like illegal drugs, lumalabas na patuloy at meron pa ring mga drug pusher sa loob ng city jail although they are not considered to be high-value targets," he added.
As part of efforts to sanitize the Tacloban district jail, at least eight inmates, including the inmates’ leader, have been transferred to the jail facilities in the towns of Palo and AlangAlang.
On top of that, 26 other inmates from the cell where the drugs and weighing scales were confiscated underwent a surprise drug test initiated by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Bongat made it clear that once they will be found positive for drug use, additional charges will be filed against them.
He said they are closely coordinating with the PDEA, military, and the PNP as they double their effort in flushing out illegal drugs inside.
Likewise, they have intensified their monitoring of inmates suspected to be involved in drug activities.
In December 2016, a certain inmate Junjun Omega, whose name was among those tagged in the illegal drug trade by selfconfessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, was transferred to the Leyte provincial jail.
More inmates facing drug charges later followed suit.