More detention centers eyed amid congestion

CEBU, Philippines — Additional detention centers may be constructed in Cebu soon in response to the severe overcrowding of detention centers.

Both Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) Director Roderick Mariano think that the construction of additional detention centers would be an effective measure to solve the problem of overcrowding that is common among detention centers in the province.

“I think makatabang man siguro, as I had mentioned earlier, mga district jails ba…makapuno og infrastructure para sa BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology),” Garcia said.

Meanwhile, Mariano updated that he has been relaying the prospect of additional detention centers to the governor and congressmen.

“What we are trying to do now to solve that problem, we are requesting to our congressmen, to our governor… for the construction of additional facility as far as ating mga jail facilities is concerned,” he said.

Mariano added they are looking into at least one additional detention center per district to alleviate the congestion problem.

He told The FREEMAN that the issue of congestion is common among all detention centers and jails.

He further said that even the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) is experiencing congestion.

This makes it inconvenient for municipal detention centers to transfer inmates to CPDRC seeing as it is also past its intended holding capacity.

“We cannot solve one problem by adding to another,” Garcia commented on transferring inmates to CPDRC.

Currently, CPDRC holds 2,040 inmates. The number decreased from the previous 2,500 inmates prior to July of this year after decongestion efforts spearheaded by Garcia’s admin.

However, the governor also stressed that the current number still goes past CPDRC’s holding capacity of 1500 inmates.

The province has already set a moratorium on accepting additional inmates in the CPDRC.

Currently, decongestion measures are being done in all detention centers in the Province of Cebu.

For the CPDRC, Garcia has prioritized the expedition of the disposition of cases.

Garcia also pointed out in an interview that the province has also prioritized the deputization of doctors and nurses to administer drug tests for inmates who have opted for plea bargains.

Earlier this week, news broke about the overcrowding woes experiences by detainees in the Liloan. The detention center has a capacity of 50 inmates, but the facility is currently holding about 225 inmates. (FREEMAN)