THE Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) has agreed to transfer 412 inmates of the new City of Naga Jail in Barangay Naalad to the Cebu City Jail’s (CCJ) female dorm after tension cracks were found near the facility.
Mayor Kristine Vanessa Chiong said the inmates can only return after slope stabilization activities are implemented.
Senior Insp. Roberto Crisanto Alpon III, Naga jail warden, said the local government unit still needS to coordinate with the Cebu City Government before they can make the transfer.
The Provincial Government is also willing to assist, but Gov. Hilario Davide III said he has yet to talk to Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center warden Reynaldo Valmoria if they can accommodate additional inmates.
Chiong told reporters she has ordered the immediate evacuation of the city jail after the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB)gave the area where the facility is located a “high to very high” landslide susceptibility rating.
Following the landslide that occurred in Sitio Sindulan in Barangay Tina-an last Sept. 20, incidents of “heaving,” or the ground slowly separating, have been reported.
Geologists from MGB then found cracks in an exposed limestone outcrop near the jail.
Chiong said she gathered jail officials to discuss the temporary relocation of the city’s inmates.
The City has also committed to provide a counterpart of P20 a day for the meal allowance of each displaced inmate at their temporary “home.”
Alpon, in a separate interview, said the CCJ’s female dorm can accommodate Naga’s inmates as it has a maximum capacity of 700 inmates.
The CCJ’s female dorm’s inmates will be transferred to a new facility within the premises.