City execs inspect Kalunasan jail, expects completion by June '06

It may take a few more months before inmates at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center can be transferred to the city's new jail facility in barangay Kalunasan.

Yesterday, Vice Mayor Michael Rama found out during an ocular inspection that the construction of the facility's perimeter fence and an additional building may be finished June this year, this if construction would run smoothly as planned.

Rama and Councilor Procopio Fernandez, chairman of the city's committee on police, fire and penology, reached the site yesterday at the sight of workers laboring the fierce afternoon sun to erect the 18-feet high perimeter fence and a building funded by a budget from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Administration. Rama and Fernandez are members of the BBRC oversight committee.

Elmer Pino, regional engineer of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology told the city officials that the perimeter fence is already 60 percent complete, including the "catwalk" on top of the structure. Guard posts would also be erected in salient corners of the jail perimeter.

The new site of the city jail stands beside the compounds of the Operation Second Chance, the facility for minor offenders, and the city's facility for women.

While the P19.8 million PDEA-funded building is barely finished, the three-story building funded by the city government is already complete. Rama said they are contemplating on converting the third story of the building, originally intended as a roof deck, into an additional area for prison cells.

The PDEA-funded building can accommodate 1200 inmates while the city-funded building can accommodate 960 inmates. Rama said they decided to erect the PDEA building also in Kalunasan because about 900 inmates in the city jail are there for drug-related cases.

Rama said he is satisfied with the progress of the construction and is optimistic to have the facility completely built by middle of this year. The city government already wants to relocate the inmates to Kalunasan to break the incidents that brought controversy to the old BBRC.

Rama said the controversies could be prevented, especially if a new surveillance system would already be installed to augment security. This system, however, is not yet part of the 30 million PDEA budget that has been realigned to Cebu City for the construction of the new city jail. - Joeberth Ocao