GOVERNOR Yevgeny Vincente Emano called the new jail facility that will rise soon in a four-hectare land in Initao town, Misamis Oriental as "one of the best jails in the country."
Emano said in an interview that the lot, which will be donated by town Mayor Gogoy Acain, is ready for the jail transfer. It can accommodate over 700 prisoners.
The new jail will have separate detention cells for women, men, juvenile inmates, and those mentally unstable.
The project will be under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to fast track the construction.
He said the facility will not only house inmates but will also provide basic amenities and livelihood training facilities for them to utilize.
Emano cited the need for the inmates' rehabilitation and the need for them to learn and hone their skills in livelihood which they can use once they are free again.
A one-hectare area of the total property will be dedicated for a farm lot, where the inmates can make use of their time planting, and that the output of their farming will be bought by the Provincial Government.
The inmates will be trained by Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) particularly on drip irrigation, a farming system which delivers water directly to the root zone of a plant, where it seeps slowly into the soil one drop at a time.
A technology will also be used by the new facility to convert the inmates' fecal wastes into a bio gas, which they can use to cook their food.
"Dili nata kinahanglan ug (We don't have to need) firewood or LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), we will use this new system," he said.
"It will have classrooms, the province will provide the facilities while Tesda will provide the teachers for the skills training," he added.
The existing jail, which was built for 200 inmates but can hold 700, is located in the premises of the Provincial Government office and near to offices like the Department of Agriculture, the city's water district, and even one of the biggest malls here.
The said jail is tainted with issues as illegal drugs can easily penetrate the facility.
Late last year, a minor inmate also managed to escape the said facility.