CPDRC warden issues shoot order

CEBU, Philippines — The acting jail warden of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) has put a new rule in place disallowing personnel from entering “restricted areas” inside the facility.

The new rule comes with the order to shoot anyone who insists and who violates it.

“I even warned them and I even gave direct order to anybody  who would actually be assigned there to challenge anybody who would go near and would attempt  to cross the line and make them aware that we’re gonna  shoot them if they do. I assure them that whoever is guarding there, I’ll back you up,” said Audesti Miguel.

The new rule aims to get rid of contrabands and illegal drugs that continue to get sneaked into the jail.

One of these restricted areas is the CPDRC kitchen where inmates prepare meals for jail residents. This can be accessed from both the front and back doors.

At the front, the kitchen can be accessed through the administration office, which is located near the area where vehicles are parked.

“But I had enough of these personnel. This has to stop so I instituted that restriction,” Miguel said.

He said the kitchen is a likely point of exchange for personnel who will try to sneak drugs and contrabands into the jail.

Today, a sign has been put up there. It reads: “You are entering a restricted area. Trespassers will be shot.”

 Miguel said the restriction covers all CPDRC personnel. These personnel are limited only to the areas they are assigned at.

Meanwhile, inmates who have errands to do will have to undergo inspection before they can go out of the restricted area.

“So one entry point, one exit point” for inmates, Miguel said.

Jail personnel also need to go through two levels of inspection when they enter the building.

Miguel also plans to move lockers outside the building and attach “fishnets” to the perimeter fence, especially at the back portion of the CPDRC “so that if they will throw something there, it will get stuck.”

Miguel said they were able to recover a green plastic bag that contained 122 packs of shabu at the back portion of a cell.

 Based on his observation, Miguel said almost all of the personnel working inside the jail don’t have enough training and knowledge of their functions.

 He said only 35 percent of the personnel, jail guards included, has the average “capability” to function fully while the remaining 65 percent is “assigned to do easy task”. (FREEMAN)