Water supply may stall transfer of BBRC inmates to Kalunasan

The lack of water supply may hamper the transfer of 2,500 inmates of the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center to the jail facility in barangay Kalunasan who could use hundreds of cubic meters of water everyday.

Vice Mayor Michael Rama, along with other government officials who visited the ongoing construction at the site yesterday morning, came up with this observation.

Patricio Gabuya, city director of the Department of Interior and Local Government, said it could be very expensive if the jail would get its supply of water directly from the Metro Cebu Water District because an initial estimate of the water consumption of the 2,500 detainees is placed at P650,000 every month.

Another alternative, which could be cheaper, is to tap the connection of the water pump managed by a cooperative manned by residents of Kalunasan that would only cost P250,000 a month.

It was suggested that the government should allocate budget for the construction of a deep well to avoid paying a huge amount for the monthly water bills, but Gabuya said this still needs funds worth P10 million.

BBRC warden Efren Nemeño said he prefers the government to embark on the construction of a deep well than to buy water from the MCWD.

Aside from Rama and Gabuya, the other officials who inspected the ongoing construction of the Kalunasan jail yesterday were Engr. Nicomedes Leonor of the Department of Public Works and Highways and jail regional director Benito Dorigo.

Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno had already announced the new Kalunasan jail facility will be completed in October.

Aside from what President Arroyo wished that the 2,500 BBRC inmates could be transferred there before the opening of the ASEAN summit in December, the construction of the new facility is in line with heightened government efforts to improve the conditions of inmates and address the worsening problem of overcrowding in jail cells.

The P19-million budget for the construction of the Kalunasan jail facility is part of the P100-million support fund granted by President Arroyo as part of her commitment to improve the conditions of the country’s jails and rehabilitate juvenile offenders to help them become productive members of society.

But the original plan is that the four-story Kalunasan jail facility is to be used only for those inmates facing drug-related cases, in order to decongest provincial jails.

Puno said that once the new Cebu City jail is fully operational, all inmates facing drug-related charges at the BBRC will also be transferred to this new facility.

More than half of the 2,500 prisoners at the BBRC are facing drug-related cases.

The DILG top official said the plan is that the new home for juvenile offenders looks more like a school, with colorful murals and spacious dormitories for its occupants.

Aside from the ongoing construction in Kalunasan, the city government funds the construction of another jail facility out of the advance tax payment of Ayala. – Rene U. Borromeo