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Friday, March 28, 2003
After riots, all quiet in BBRC, but kids under 7 banned entry
By Mia E. Abellana
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
IT’S back to normal for the inmates and personnel of the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC) after a two-day riot kept authorities on their toes since the jailbreak last Sunday.
However, BBRC Warden Supt. Primitivo Benitez this time followed a rule in the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) manual: no children below seven years old will be allowed inside the facility.
Families, with children as young as 11 months, were forced out of the jail during Operation Greyhound held last Wednesday.
A composite team comprising jail officers, local and elite police units, military and fire personnel conducted the raid.
A similar dawn raid held last month found at least 95 women and children living inside the facility.
Benitez also said that all the kobol units (makeshift cubicles) will be demolished within the week.
Last Wednesday, kobol units in the first three cells and half of those located in the basketball court were torn down.
BJMP officials blamed the presence of overstaying visitors on the kobol units, saying the visitors could easily hide inside one.
Benitez warned that visitors caught overstaying will be banned from entering the jail for a week or 15 days.
(If a visitor’s identification card is not claimed at the end of the day, it means the visitor is still inside.)
Last Wednesday’s inspections were conducted amid intelligence reports that there were three firearms, a hand grenade and five cellular phones being hidden in the jail.
These reports were floated after five inmates bolted the facility by holding a jail guard hostage Sunday night.
Three inmates—Reil Bautista, Mitchell Bernabe and Felix Al-os—are still at large while their two companions, Joel “Tongol” Nodalo and Washington Calimbo, surrendered.
An alleged accomplice in the escape last Monday was released yesterday.
Six other inmates believed to have instigated last Tuesday’s riots are still at the
Talisay City jail pending investigation.
One of them is Nodalo’s older brother Isidro “Botex” Jr., who is facing two charges of robbery, murder and violation of parole.
Five inmates who underwent treatment at the city hospital for slight injuries are all back at the BBRC.
For his part, Department of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary for Peace and Order Marius Corpus said he and Vice Mayor Michael Rama agreed to create an oversight committee to supervise the management of the jail.
While the BBRC will still be managed by the BJMP, Corpus said the committee’s task is to monitor the jail’s daily operations for possible lapses.
They plan to draft a memorandum of agreement the next time Corpus comes to visit Cebu.
Corpus, interviewed over radio dyLA, said he and Rama agreed to put up a temporary perimeter fence made of barbwire around the new facility in Kalunasan, as there are no funds available yet for a concrete wall.
Earlier, he said he will not allow the transfer unless the new facility had a fence. However, the fence is expected to cost P20 million and the BJMP just doesn’t have the money for it, he said.
Corpus also told Benitez to find other ways to augment the inmates’ daily rations, which they claim are not enough.
Benitez said the rations had to be decreased after Mayor Tomas Osmeña stopped giving them support.
Since Osmeña refuses to budge from his decision, Benitez said they will have to make do with their budget and ask visitors to provide food for their relatives.
(March 28, 2003 issue)
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