261 City Jail inmates list up for 2013 polls

CEBU, Philippines - Over 200 inmates benefited the offsite registration conducted yesterday by the Commission on Elections at the Cebu City in Barangay Kalunasan.

City Jail warden Johnson Calub said a total of 261 inmates were registered, 126 from the south district and 135 from the north.

The offsite registration was conducted based on the memorandum of agreement entered into by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and the Comelec to give the inmates the chance to participate in the 2013 elections.

Calub said only Cebu City residents were called by batch to register. The registration started at 8:00 a.m. and was finished at 4:00 p.m. The City Jail houses some 1,200 inmates but only 261 of them registered.

Calub said the registration was orderly and peaceful even after a brief commotion among the inmates the other day. The commotion started with a heated argument between the inmates during an open forum last Friday.

Calub said the inmates were discussing about the upcoming National Correctional Consciousness Week and Prison Awareness Month this October.

“Nagkalalis ra to sila ginagmay (It was a little misunderstanding). It was settled immediately,” Calub said.

Two groups were involved and the commotion caused minor bruises to some inmates. Everything is back to normal at the jail as of yesterday.

The onsite registration will resume on Monday. Cebu City north district election officer Marchel Sarno said they expect many people to flock the Comelec to register since the deadline of registration is on October 31.

Sarno advised those who wants to register to do it before October 31 since the Comelec will not be giving extension. –/FPL (FREEMAN)