CEBU City Mayor Edgardo Labella plans to reactivate a team that will decongest the female dormitory of the new Cebu City Jail.
The mayor said he was informed by the jail warden that both the male and female dormitories are congested. The female dormitory, which has a capacity of only 90 persons, currently houses 2,000 female inmates, Labella said.
The male dormitory, on the other hand, can accommodate only 1,000 inmates, but the facility is currently housing close to 6,000 prisoners.
Labella said he will reactivate the decongestion team, which will be headed by the City Legal Office.
The team will review the inmates’ cases and evaluate who can avail themselves of plea bargaining based on the number of years they have been detained at the City Jail.
“Ako silang giingnan nga tagai ko sa listahan unsa pay inyong gikinahanglan kay ang Cebu City andam motabang (I told them to give me a list of what they need. Cebu City is always ready to help),” Labella said.
The mayor was the guest speaker during the first anniversary celebration of the Cebu City Justice Zone on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019.
The Justice Zone at the female dormitory is an area where local justice sector representatives such as the judges, prosecutors, public attorneys, lawyers, Cebu City officials, Department of the Interior and Local Government officials, police, probation officers and managers of detentions facilities can identify common problems and arrive at common solutions to address them.
The Cebu City Justice Zone is headed by Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Macaundas Hadjirasul.
According to Labella, the City Government has earmarked P8 million for the purchase of new beds for the female dormitory and another P15 million from the City’s Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. funds for the facilities of the male dormitory.
Labella urged the wardens of the two dormitories to hand their wish list so City Hall can work on it.
“For me, we should be able to implement a penal system that is reformatory, corrective and remedial and not one that is punitive so that our inmates, especially the women, can return to mainstream society,” Labella said in Cebuano. (from PAC of Superbalita Cebu/RSR)