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Friday, February 10, 2006
New warden takes over; no use, says Tomas
UNLESS problems with corruption and illegal drugs at the city jail are solved, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña will not approve the transfer of the inmates to the new jail facility in Barangay Kalunasan.
Osmeña said he cannot assure the safety of the residents in Kalunasan if the inmates are transferred at this time when the jail management cannot address security concerns.
The mayor does not believe the appointment of a new jail warden is the solution to the problems at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC).
“You can do all the changes you want in the lower level but it’s no use. The foolishness goes all the way up,” Osmeña said.
Chief Insp. Teofilo Labating was removed as BBRC under the principle of command responsibility.
Osmeña may have “lost hope” in the Bureau of Jail Managament and Penology (BJMP), but Chief Insp. Efren Nemeño is still willing to give the BBRC a shot.
Nemeño was pulled out of the Lapu-Lapu City jail last Wednesday afternoon to replace Labating.
Nemeño, 34, graduated from the Philippine National Police Academy in 1994.
In an interview with reporters yesterday, he said he did not blame Osmeña for losing trust in the bureau. He is optimistic, though, that he can change Osmeña’s perception of the jail.
He brought with him three of his trusted personnel to help him “discipline” the personnel.
Labating will be on floating status at the BJMP 7 pending the result of the investigation on Jail Officers 1 Eiveht Sy and Menchu Landero, who were arrested in an entrapment by the National Bureau of Investigation 7 last Monday afternoon.
Sy and Landero allegedly collected “taxes” from visitors who bring in food and other stuff for sale at the BBRC.
Supt. Cesar Balderas, BJMP 7 deputy director for operations, said the order for Labating’s relief came from Gen. Arturo Alit, BJMP national headquarters chief.
Difficulty
Balderas, who heads the investigating team, admitted he is having difficulty getting information from the two guards.
“They refused to name names. They just keep on saying that it was their own initiative,” Balderas said.
The investigation is focusing on Sy and Landero’s statement that the “tax” collection “has long been practiced” and they just inherited it when they were assigned to the city jail.
“What’s keeping them from disclosing the identities of those involved?” Balderas asked.
Landero earlier that she gave the money to whoever asked for it for emergencies. She did not keep a financial record, though.
Vice Mayor Michael Rama said he was not surprised that the two jail guards took back their statements.
“Why won’t they recant when they had a press conference with their officials?” Rama said.
The new BBRC warden vowed to disband the “mafia-style” of jail guards in the city jail.
Nemeño also plans to make a presentation of possible projects to Mayor Osmeña when he makes his courtesy call.
He admitted that the conditions of the Cebu City and Lapu-Lapu jails are in stark contrast, but he believes he can introduce the same programs he implemented in his previous assignment.
Nemeño had introduced several livelihood programs in the Lapu-Lapu jail, allowing the inmates to put up a bakery and to engage in guitar making, duck-raising, woodcarving, furniture-making and handicrafts for export.
His first assignment as warden was in Talisay City in 2002. He was assigned to Lapu-Lapu in 2004.
However, the Lapu-Lapu City jail occupied 1.6 hectares while the BBRC is known for its congestion problems.
Constructed for 250 inmates in the 1970s, the BBRC is home to 2,498 inmates today.
Vice Mayor Rama, chairman of the Police Coordinating and Advisory Council, said the transfer of the inmates to Kalunasan will partly address security concerns since the problem on congestion will be addressed and the inmates will be monitored closely.
Corpus out
Osmeña, on the other hand, said he may change his mind about the transfer if Department of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Marius Corpus is replaced, but it will also depend on who will replace him.
The mayor said he suspects Corpus is behind the illegal activities at BBRC.
“I already promised Kalunasan residents it would be safe to transfer the inmates, and I can’t promise them that if we will transfer BBRC now. It’s not fair to the people of Kalunasan and to Beverly Hills,” he said.
Aside from the crackdown on illegal drugs at BBRC, Osmeña also wants to make sure BJMP can prevent jailbreaks and treat all inmates equally.
The mayor also fears the jail guards and their families will squat on properties near the area once they transfer to Kalunasan since they are not from Cebu.
“In other words, maybe Mike Rama is right but I’m not going to go for it. I’m not convinced because congestion is not the only cause of the problem,” he said. (LCR/MEA/JST)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (February 10, 2006 issue)
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