ABOUT 190 female inmates of Metro Bacolod District Jail (MBDJ)-Female Dormitory in Barangay Handumanan, Bacolod City conducted a noise barrage from late afternoon till evening on Tuesday.
Inspector Mar Louie Salcedo, spokesperson of Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-Negros Island Region (BJMP-NIR), said the noise barrage started around 5:50 p.m.
The inmates were shouting and thrashing various objects to create noise
inside the 10 detention cells, he added.
Salcedo, who responded to the area, said the inmates pleaded to Inspector Jean Olive Unciano, jail warden, to allow their families to stay with them for a week.
When the warden refused due to the strict implementation of the visitation policy, the inmates started to create noise.
To control the situation, Salcedo said they negotiated with the inmates, giving them consideration that will allow their families to stay with them during Christmas eve on the 24th and during New Year’s eve on the 31st even if such arrangement is not suitable.
Still, the negotiation did not prosper, and the inmates even became more eager to demand for the visits.
The barrage lasted for about four hours, ending around 9:30 p.m.
Salcedo said they are expecting the noise barrage to resume on Wednesday.
He added that nobody was hurt, but they already deployed additional jail officers from the BJMP-NIR to augment the MBDJ personnel.
“We will observe them until we reach a settlement because we will not tolerate their action,” Salcedo said.