Osmeña won't extend support for transfer of BBRC inmates

Mayor Tomas Osmeña is apparently in no mood to let the close to 2,500 male inmates of Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center transfer to the new jail facility in barangay Kalunasan on November 30 as scheduled by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

"Let them transfer to Kalunasan but it doesn't have my support," said Osmeña, who raised the question on anomalies surrounding the BBRC, which has been plagued with jailbreaks, illegal drugs and corruption among its personnel.

Osmeña said he would not allow the use of Kaoshiung buses for the transfer of the detainees to Kalunasan. "No assistance. They have to walk if they want," the mayor said. However, he stressed that only police security escort will be allowed for the inmates' transfer.

The new jail facility in barangay Kalunasan is now 88 percent complete and is ready for occupancy by the end of the month, according to Vice Mayor Michael Rama.

Rama went to Manila last Monday to meet with BJMP acting chief Supt. Antonio Cruz, Department of Public Works and Highways officials and anti-graft commission head Connie dela Cruz to finalize the inmates' transfer.

"There is an immediate need for the transfer of the inmates kay agi-anan ra ba gyud na ilang lugar sa mga head of state," Rama said, adding that the transfer of inmates to the new city jail would eliminate the risks.

To recall, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had asked for the immediate transfer of the detainees to Kalunasan before the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit next month since the present BBRC in barangay Apas is located along one of the ceremonial routes for the event.

But for Osmeña, the inmates' transfer to Kalunasan will create a risk for the people residing in Beverly Hills and the barangay.

"I'm not answerable to the vice mayor or the president, in fact I'm willing to fight the president. But I'm answerable to the people who voted for me," an angry Osmeña said.

He even informed Kalunasan barangay captain Francisco Pintor to monitor and strictly prohibit personnel of BBRC or BJMP assigned to Kalunasan to settle in the area.

Rama, who was in-charge of the transfer of the inmates and sits as chairman of the Police Coordinating and Advisory Council, said the BJMP would be on top of the situation during the inmates' transfer. One of the issues they had discussed in Manila, according to Rama, was the installation of the water system in the area.

The jail compound is in an elevated area of the barangay and needs to pump water from near a school hundreds of meters downhill.

They also discussed about the special allocation release order of the P10 million needed for a water pump and piping system for the Kalunasan jail.

The P19 million funds for the jail facility come from a P30-million allocation that Rama had asked to be realigned for the city jail.

The P30 million was part of the P100 million funds from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office that President Arroyo allotted for the construction of drug rehabilitation centers in Manila, Cebu City and Davao City. Cebu City was able to have the amount realigned.

The two-story building in Kalunasan is almost finished but can presently hold only 960 inmates. Once finished, it could hold around 1,200 inmates. - Garry B. Lao