Bacolod governor: No compromise on prisoners' demands

Bacolod City, Philippines – Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. turned down most of the demands of about 70 inmates-trustees who held a noise barrage at 7 a.m. Monday at the Negros Occidental Provincial Jail at Gatuslao street Bacolod City.

However, the governor agreed to one of their demands – that their meal allowance be increased.

The inmates-trustees, called as such because they have good records after long years in detention, complained against some jail rules implemented by provincial jail Warden Dionisio Silva. They demanded a change of rules and Silva’s ouster.

“No compromise. Why should we?” the governor said, in response to the prisoners’ demands. He said some of the inmates’ complaints are borne out of their own practice.

The inmates demanded that the number of hours of their conjugal visits be extended. But Marañon said the existing schedule of conjugal visits will be maintained. There are only seven conjugal rooms in the provincial jail and each inmate and his wife are allowed to use it for 30 minutes only.

The inmates also demanded that they be allowed to bring in the bamboo poles inside the maximum security cells apparently to continue working on their parol (lanterns). The governor said the inmates are given eight hours, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., to work on their parol and after 4 p.m., they should go back to maximum security cells and leave the bamboo poles at the barracks.

Silva said that before, the inmates, especially those belonging to “minimum risks,” were allowed to stay at the barracks even at nighttime. But he changed this rule after Jaypee Deriada, an inmate-trustee, escaped on July 19 by climbing the wall of the jail. Silva said he does not want the same incident to happen again so after 5 p.m. all inmates have to return to the maximum security cells.

The inmates did not agree to this policy and demanded yesterday that they be allowed to stay at the barracks even at nighttime on Saturdays and Sundays.

Marañon said allowing these inmates to stay in the barracks at nighttime might lead to another escape.