Wednesday, November 15, 2006 2 inmates bribed warden to stay in BBRC, says Tom
CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña alleged that two inmates, who are supposed to be sent to the National Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City three years ago, are still in Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC) after paying P40,000 to the jail warden.
He received a text message that prisoners Allan Mosqueda and Carlos Dy bribed the warden so they would remain in Cebu despite an order for their transfer.
Common
“Do I believe this? I believe this. It’s very common in BBRC,” the mayor said.
While he did not specify whom he was referring to, as BBRC changed wardens very often the past three years, Chief Insp. Efren Nemeño said somebody must have given the mayor the wrong information.
Nemeño is BBRC’s warden for the past nine months.
He said Mosqueda is still awaiting decision for a 2003 illegal drugs case, while Dy just had his sentence reduced by the court after his 2004 murder conviction.
Nemeño said the court granted Dy’s motion for reconsideration because he was still a minor when he killed a person in 1997.
He and four others were accused of killing Zaldy Sialola and Joel Medalle in Maracas, Lahug, Cebu City on Dec. 9, 1997.
He shot Medalle in the chest while Dandy Espinile stabbed Sialola to death. Both were initially meted a 20 to 40 years jail term, while their three companions were acquitted after the prosecution failed to prove their involvement.
Nemeño said Dy had his sentence reduced to just 14 years in jail.
And the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) prioritizes “high risk inmates,” or those with long convictions, and those whose jail terms are about to end without them being sent to Muntinlupa yet.
“I don’t know who gave the mayor that wrong information. We vehemently deny that. Ang ato is prioritization of security risk inmates,” he said.
Also, the mayor said a minor from the Operation Second Chance, the jail facility for juvenile offenders, is pregnant and that the warden allegedly tried to keep the information a secret.
Not true
Sun.Star Cebu received a similar information as early as last February. But Cebu City First Lady Margot Osmeña said the minor was already pregnant when she went to jail and gave birth there.
Interviewed that time, Chief Insp. Neil Avisado, the jail warden, also said one minor just did not have her period and was taken to the clinic for a pregnancy test. The result was a negative.
Interviewed over the phone yesterday, he said the report was not true and anyone could visit Operation Second Chance to take a look at the minors.
He said he maintains a “no contact” policy between his men and the minors. (RHM)
