PCAC invites warden to explain hostage-taking

CEBU, Philippines - The Police Coordinating and Advisory Council (PCAC) will invite Sr. Insp. Elsie Irene Alcomendras, the warden of Operation Second Chance detention facility, during the PCAC meeting next week to shed light on the hostage taking incident last Monday.

PCAC presiding officer Eugene Elizalde said that they do not want to rush the investigation to make sure that they will be able to uncover the real problem that triggered the children to do such acts.

Last Monday, some 170 children in conflict with the law held hostage a jail guard. The children locked the guard inside the comfort room to prevent him from leaving before starting a noise barrage.

The children held hostage one of the guards because they claim that they are being maltreated. They also took the incident as an opportunity to raise other demands such as longer visiting hours.

Mayor Michael Rama ordered the PCAC to investigate the matter and provide recommendations on how to keep the order and prevent the same incident from happening.

Operation Second Chance is located in barangay Kalunasan. It is a separate detention facility made exclusively for youth offenders. The facility has house parents deployed by the City Government who take care of the children and help them rehabilitate.

Elizalde said the PCAC has a lot of questions for Alcomendras. He said that what they will be doing is a parallel investigation with the one being conducted of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and the Operation Second Chance Management Board.

Elizalde said they will go to the bottom of the incident and verify the claims of the children because there could be truth to it. He agreed that jail guards must be trained to handle youth offenders.

“Ours is to find a long-term solution to the problem,” Elizalde said. He said it is good that the eight jail guards accused of maltreating the children were already relieved as this was the immediate solution.  (FREEMAN)