ACTING Cebu Provincial Police Chief Erson Digal plans to discuss with Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia problems he foresees with the plan to stop admitting inmates at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC).
While holding inmates is the job of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Digal said the bureau handles only a few jails.
The rest are inadequate detention cells found in the towns’ police stations. These structures are not as well-built as the cells at the CPDRC, he said.
He has already asked chiefs of police to request their local governments to improve these structures.
On the part of Capitol, spokesperson Rory Jon Sepulveda yesterday said the Provincial Government plans to have satellite jails in towns to decongest CPDRC.
The satellite jails will be in Balamban and Toledo.
The satellite jails are expected to speed up the hearing of cases of inmates and shorten their travel time from jail to the court, thus minimizing risks.
In the meantime, Digal plans to ask for Garcia’s permission to detain at the CPDRC a suspect in the killing of a school teacher.
They’re still waiting for the commitment order against Joel Alforque, 32, who was identified as one of four persons who killed Romeo Duran inside the grade 6 classroom of the Binlod Elementary School in the southern town of Argao.
Digal said detention cells in some of the towns are not big enough to keep inmates.
He also fears the attention of police officers will be divided between day-to-day operations and watching over detainees. In addition, stations will also require more personnel to stay behind and guard them.
He cited the cities of Talisay, Naga, Danao and Toledo as among the few areas that have separate jail facilities operated by the BJMP.
He said, though, that food for detainees is not a problem, as most local governments provide this.