CEBU CITY -- The Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) plans to temporarily stop accepting prisoners due to overpopulation in the said facility, a jail official said Monday.
Provincial jail warden Reynaldo Valmoria said he would submit his proposal to Governor Hilario Davide III as soon as the latter returns from his vacation.
Valmoria said they should temporarily stop accepting remanded prisoners from the different municipalities in the province as the CPDRC is already congested with inmates.
He said the CPDRC currently has 3,910 inmates or more than double the jail’s population capacity of 1,500.
“It’s really overcrowded and we don’t have a choice but to suspend receiving additional inmates from municipal jails,” Valmoria said, adding that what they are doing at the moment is converting some parts of the facility into cells.
The CPDRC has also started segregating its inmates according to their respective cases as part of their plan to decongest the facility.
Valmoria said they have already separated the high-profile inmates from those facing drug-related charges and other cases.
Considered high-profile inmates at the CPDRC include self-confessed drug lord Alvaro Alvaro, notoriously known as “Barok,” and former Bohol Provincial Board Member Niño Rey Boniel, who is serving time for allegedly killing his wife, Bien Unido Mayor Gisela Boniel, and dumping her body into the sea on June 7 last year.
Of the 3,910 prisoners in CPDRC, more than 2,800 are charged with violation of Republic Act No. 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. (PNA)
