A POLICE company assigned to guard the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) denied there is a shabu laboratory inside the jail.
An official of the Provincial Mobile Force Company (PMFC) made the statement after receiving reports that a tour guide who was caught selling drugs during a buy-bust in Badian was reportedly getting his supplies from CPDRC.
Officials of the Municipal Government of Badian said that the tour guide, who was caught in Barangay Matutinao last Monday, was not registered nor accredited by the town.
In a statement, Badian Municipal Councilor Mark Andrew Jorolan said that Willard Capacio is not an accredited canyoneering guide.
Jorolan, chairperson of the council’s committee on tourism, said in his Facebook page that all of their accredited guides underwent regular drug testing and proper training.
PMFC head Supt. Mario Baquiran, for his part, told reporters that they are tracing the alleged contact of Capacio inside the jail.
Baquiran said there’s no way that the detainees are manufacturing shabu since they found no trace of shabu-making equipment during a series of surprise inspections inside the jail.
He believes, though, that some detainees are working as middlemen in the illegal drug trade and will contact their suppliers outside to provide their clients with illegal drugs.
This year, two signal jammers have been installed inside the CPDRC to prevent cellphone use inside the jail by either inmates or visitors.
But Baquiran admitted it isn’t enough to cover all parts of the jail.
CPDRC acting warden Roberto Legaspi, in a separate interview yesterday, said they plan to acquire more signal jammers for the facility.
He also plans to meet with the Provincial Intelligence Branch and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to ask them to verify the claims of the tour guide.
Capacio reportedly supplies illegal drugs to his fellow tour guides and tourists visiting the Kawasan Falls and to those who are going for canyoneering adventure in Badian.
Capacio is a newly identified drug personality in the town.
Police will be filing a complaint against Capacio for violating Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Selling shabu is a non-bailable offense. (JKV)