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Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Most women inmates face drug-related cases
Majority of female inmates at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC) are facing drug-related cases, said the deputy jail warden for the women’s dormitory.
SJO4 Merlina Metante yesterday said they have 221 women prisoners, 80 percent of whom were arrested for using and selling illegal drugs. The rest were charged with estafa. One is charged with murder.
Mandaue City Jail Warden Jose D. Moring said that of the 497 inmates in the jail, nearly half, or 42 percent, are facing drug-related cases. The other prisoners are facing charges for crimes against person and property.
Metante and Moring said that if the illegal drug problem in Cebu will be eradicated, inmate population in various jails will greatly reduced.
Jobs in jail
Giving jobs to prisoners will also ease their loneliness, they said during the Association of Government Information Officers forum yesterday.
The jail officials said several companies that export fashion accessories deliver raw materials to the jail and pay the inmates for “job-out” assignments.
Because of this, some inmates are now the ones who give money to their families, Moring said. Having a livelihood also improves the relationship among prisoners.
Last week, inmates in the Mandaue City Jail celebrated the feast of the Our Lady of Fatima by pooling part of their income for food and drinks.
“They are happy. They don’t feel like prisoners,” Moring said.
Fr. Nestor R. Caber, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology 7 regional chaplain, urged the people to support their Inmates Welfare and Development Program to help convicts return to normal life after their release from prison.
Caber believes that once released from jail, the inmates would not return to their old ways, if the community accepts them.
“I told the inmates in my sermon that going back to normal life is a personal decision. We want to help them so they will be accepted by the community, but we have no resources for it,” Caber said. (EOB)
(October 26, 2005 issue)
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