PCAC to sample P16 jail meal

CEBU, Philippines - To observe National Crime Prevention Week next week, members of the Cebu City Police Coordinating and Advisory Council will have their regular meeting at the Cebu City Jail.

They would also try the P16 meal served to inmates if it suits their taste.

Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, PCAC chairman, said they requested Jail Warden Johnson Calub to prepare on September 2 a meal usually served to the prisoners, so PCAC members could assess if the meal is “substantial enough” for the inmates.

“Among bayran kay kana gikan raba na sa national government; agi pud og donation namo.  Basta provide us with the P16 worth of food nga ilang gi-serve sa inmates para atong ma-feel kun ang ilang gikaon is substantial enough,” the vice mayor said to Calub.

The facility currently has 2,434 inmates, each of whom are allocated P50 a day for their meals. The amount is the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology’s standard budget for all inmates nationwide.

Labella said the city government will give an additional P10 as meal allowance for each inmate.

“Ang PCAC will submit a resolution para sa additional nga meal allowance.  Hopefully pwede masulod sa supplemental budget, pero kon dili, sa next year’s annual budget na,” he said.

Calub then told Labella that P60 would be enough for three meals a day for the inmates because they also receive donations from the private sector.

In the same PCAC meeting yesterday, Labella also requested Superintendent Arnel Banzon, Cebu City Police Office deputy director for operations, to see to it that the 166 police hotline would be functional as soon as possible after learning that it was not working.

“If there’s any problem, kinahanglang ipahibawo gyud nato so that we can fix it because it is very important,” Labella said.

Because of the problem, the public is advised to reach the Cebu City Command Control Center for emergencies through cellular phone numbers 0932-537-7770/0923-524-8222 (Sun) and 0947-178-9999/0947-178-0000 (Smart). — (FREEMAN)