Tighter measures in place at Cebu jail

Following last week’s jailbreak by two inmates, security has been tightened and preventive measures put in place at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center. Sun-Star Cebu (www.sunstar.com.ph) reported Tuesday that more grills have been installed in the cells, and the visiting privilege of the inmates has been suspended. Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña also ordered the deployment of additional policemen in Kalunasan village to ensure the safety of the residents there. Provincial Governor Gwendolyn Garcia lamented that "hi-tech equipment" pieces have been installed in the jail but the human component still always fails. "We have an electric fence but it was not switched on...We may put in all manners of hi-tech equipment but if it’s the human factor that fails, truly there can be no fool-proof facility if sometimes fools are around," Garcia noted. Last Thursday, Ronnie Tabora and Gilbert Palang escaped from the isolation cell and climbed up the fence of the jail. Tabora was immediately recaptured because of the alarm system that alerted the guards, but Palang remains at large. Tabora, who is accused of killing and raping a teenager in Carcar town, told Capitol consultant Byron Garcia that there were no guards in the towers when they escaped. He said they had observed this for three consecutive nights. At least six guards are being investigated. Governor Garcia ordered the recall of the guards detailed in the different hospitals to augment the manpower at CPDRC. The guards detailed in hospitals are those who have shown poor performance at the jail in Kalunasan. Meanwhile, Osmeña is planning to put up a housing program for policemen in the village as a deterrent to jailbreaks and other criminal activities. He said peace and order in the mountain village can be improved if there are policemen among the residents who can respond immediately to any alarm. But the housing program will depend on whether the Capitol will allow it since most of the vacant lots there are owned by the province. Kalunasan hosts the CPDRC, the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC) and the Cebu City Operation Second Chance, the City’s rehabilitation center for minors. Its residents are reportedly worried about the community’s safety, especially after two CPDRC inmates bolted the facility. "That is the issue. That is why I’m reluctant to transfer BBRC. The real assurance is the competence of BJMP, but they’re very corrupt so unless I see basic changes in the way they’re running things, yes there is a risk," Osmeña said. Osmeña is also willing to support civilians who want to address peace and order problems by themselves, similar to the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAGFU) program. - GMANews.TV