Cebu Provincial Jail Stops Accepting Inmates

The Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), the home of Cebu’s popular dancing inmates, on Monday stopped accepting inmates because of overcrowding, an official said.

CPDRC Jail Warden Romeo Manansala said the facility is no longer capable of accommodating more inmates as it already exceeded its maximum capacity.

The CPDRC, built for a capacity of 1,600 inmates, now hosts 3,008 inmates, he said.

Manansala said each of the 119 cells in the CPDRC is being occupied by 30 to 40 inmates, which exceeds the standard 12 to 18 capacity.

“The facility is suffering from over maximum capacity,” Manansala said.

But Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III said the provincial jail will still accept inmates with commitment order from the court.

Davide said the overcrowding at the CPDRC also caused respiratory ailments on some inmates.

At least ten inmates died of various ailments from June to July this year.

Earlier, provincial health officials said they would spend PHP6 million to construct a medical ward inside the jail.

The province has also allotted PHP6 million for the construction of additional cells to address CPDRC’s overpopulation problem. (PNA) LAP/EB/SGP