CEBU, Philippines – Dumaguete City Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria has assured the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Bajumpandan of this city that there is enough budget for food for its inmates.
Sagarbarria said he will double the budget for food, as well as allocate funds to construct a higher perimeter fence at the jail site.
The City Budget Office had confirmed that this year’s budget of P180,000 for the food of BJMP inmates had been doubled to P365,000 for 2015.
A lumpsum appropriation of P5 million was also earmarked for the rehabilitation of government facilities, for next year’s budget, which may include the mayor’s plan to construct a higher fence of the BJMP.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports have it that illegal drugs still find its way inside the jail, prompting Sagarbarria to report the matter to Department of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Austere Panadero during one of the mayor’s official visits in Manila.
Sagarbarria said, although unconfirmed, Panadero has promised to look into the matter, even as the local BJMP leadership has denied the report.
Records show that more than 80 percent of detainees of the BJMP in Dumaguete are facing charges for violation of the Comprehensive Drugs Act of 2002. This showed the almost daily arrests involving drug personalities in Dumaguete, according to authorities.