Hike in Drug Cases Result in Overcrowding in Cebu Jails

The increase in drug cases has resulted in overcrowding in most of Cebu’s jails, a Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) 7 official said.

BJMP 7 Director Hilbert Flor said the number of inmates facing drug cases increased from 57 percent in 2014 to 62 percent in 2015 and 66 percent as of the third quarter of this year so far.

The BJMP supervises all jails in Cebu except the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), which is run by the Cebu provincial government.

The CPDRC, which was built for 1,500 inmates, now houses 2,935 male and female inmates housed in 120 cells, each about 40 square meters, said Administrative Officer III Rey Ruiz.

Each inmate at the CPDRC gets, on average, 1.6 square meters of space, instead of the BJMP recommended space of at least 4.7 square meters for every inmate.

Given its population, the CPDRC should have 13,794 sq.m., but it has only 4,800 sq.m. or roughly 35 percent of the needed space.

The BJMP also reported the top 10 overcrowded jails in Cebu.

They are the Lapu-Lapu City Jail, with its 1,450 percent congestion rate; Mandaue City Jail, 1,063 percent; Toledo City Jail, 985 percent; Consolacion Municipal Jail, 945 percent; and Lapu-Lapu City Jail’s female dormitory, 735 percent.

Others on the list are the Mandaue City Jail’s female dorm, 633 percent; Medellin, 632 percent; Cebu City, 508 percent; Danao City, 493 percent; and Minglanilla Municipal Jail, 492 percent. (PNA) SCS/EB/RSM