KORONADAL CITY – South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes relieved the warden of the provincial jail from his post yesterday after the more than 900 inmates staged a hunger strike and noise barrage the previous day.
Aside from removing provincial jail warden Nilo Sintin from his post, Fuentes also sacked 11 jail guards who she said were “anti-Sintin” and installed herself as the “temporary warden.” Fuentes said she made the move “to ease tension” in the provincial jail and pave the way for an investigation into the inmates’ complaints against Sintin.
“We don’t want (to make the) problem worse,” she told The STAR.
The inmates demanded the ouster of Sintin for alleged inhumane treatment and mismanagement.
They also complained about lack of medical attention and medicine, inadequate food rations, prohibition against the entry of uncooked food brought by their visitors, use of government property for personal use, poor relationship with them, barring of visitors of their colleagues afflicted with tuberculosis, violation of the rights of female inmates for conjugal visits, grave abuse of authority, and maltreatment.
Fuentes cited reports though on an alleged “conspiracy” in the provincial jail to seek Sintin’s ouster.
She said she could not believe that Sintin could do such misdeeds, describing him as “one of the honest persons (I know).”