THE Provincial Government of Misamis Oriental announced on July 11 it will introduce changes in its prison facility after about 40 sachets of suspected illegal drugs were found during an inspection that resulted to the suspension of five jail employees last week.
Governor Yevgeny Vincente Emano said he will order the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras within and around Misamis Orienta Provincial Jail (MOPJ) in Corrales-Luna streets to monitor the movements of detainees and prison guards.
He said the putting up of CCTV cameras inside the MOPJ compound has been on his program but has not yet been realized due to budget constraints.
In light of the alleged trafficking of illegal drugs inside the MOPJ, Emano said he will now request the provincial legislature to allow him to purchase CCTV cameras for the detention facility.
Following the discovery of the suspected packets of shabu concealed on roofs in the detention cells, five of the MOPJ personnel, one of them a ranking provincial jail official, were identified by Emano as alleged to be in cahoots with inmates in slipping the illegal substance into the prison.
He said two of the jail guards, who were on job-order contracts, had already been dismissed from service, while the three are on a 60-day preventive suspension starting July 11, pending investigation conducted by the provincial administrator’s office.
If proven guilty, the three jail employees will be kicked out of their jobs, and they will not be receiving their post-employment benefits, and aside from that, the Provincial Capitol will also file criminal charges against them, Emano added.
The governor said he will be fair and will not play favorites, even to his close friends and relatives who have committed any wrongdoing.
One of the suspended jail guards shares Emano’s surname, but he said he will not give consideration to anyone.
He believes that for the illegal drugs to slip past security check, it must involve the prison personnel.
“Instead of the inmates being rehabilitated inside the jail, some of them have continued with their vice because of the illegal drugs that were brought inside. That is why I won’t stop the investigation [at MOPJ],” Emano said.
In spite of the alleged drug trade that is happening inside the MOPJ, Emano said he has not lost his trust and confidence in jail warden Dominador Tagarda, adding that it comes with a stern warning that the prison complex must be free from illegal substances and that the same incident will not happy anymore.
Other reforms, Emano said, will be implemented as soon as the Provincial Government finishes the investigation on the incident.