CPDRC eyes more religious and sports activities for inmates

Following the tension involving nine Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center inmates who acted as if they were possessed on Monday night, the jail is eyeing more religious and sports activities for its female inmates.

 

Jail consultant Marco Toral said he plans to encourage the female inmates to join religious activities inside the jail, GMA Cebu's Vic Serna reported.

 

Toral also said the inmates will be encouraged to engage in sports such as volleyball in the afternoon instead of staying inside their cells.

 

Earlier, Toral said he is considering having Msgr. Fred Kreikenbeek, the Cebu Archdiocese's official exorcist, bless the facility.

 

On the other hand, psychologist Rose Gunato said a psychiatrist may be needed for the nine female inmates who caused tension last Monday.

 

Gunato said the female inmates, many of whom were shouting and had to be held down Monday night, may be suffering from various problems, GMA Cebu's Lou-Anne Mae Rondina reported Friday.

 

She added the female inmates, who are already suffering from stress, could have suffered from mass hysteria in Monday's incident. CPDRC warden Romeo Manansala admitted a psychologist or psychiatrist is needed to listen to the inmates if they have problems.

 

Last Monday evening, tension gripped the CPDRC after the female inmates started shouting and acting as if possessed.

 

One of the supposedly possessed inmates showed great strength, with six men having difficulty holding her down.

 

Fr. Rogelio Bag-ao, accompanied by men carrying a crucifix, tended to the affected inmates and blessed them with holy water.

 

After the priest prayed for the inmate, eight others were heard shouting from their cells. The eight were brought from their cells to the chapel.

 

Bag-ao then led the blessing of the cells in the female dormitory.

 

However, the priest said there may have been other explanations for the female inmates' behavior other than being possessed - such as depression or fatigue.

 

The nine female inmates appeared to have returned to normal as of Wednesday, and even took part in a religious service. — Joel Locsin/JDS, GMA News