Ombuds to probe "taxing" at BBRC

The Ombudsman will look into the alleged involvement of Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center officials in the illegal money-making activity in spite of the retraction of the two lady guards who earlier claimed that they were just following orders when they were arrested receiving money from a supposed jail visitor during an entrapment operation

Ombudsman-Visayas director Edgardo Canton said he would recommend to acting deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Virginia Palanca Santiago an investigation into the allegation that city jail officials ordered a "tax" on items brought inside the jail for sale.

Canton said the probe is necessary now that Jail Officers I Eiveht Sy and Menchu Landero retracted their earlier statement before the media.

The anti-graft official believes that the two guards were just forced to withdraw their allegations considering that it was done in a press conference organized by the BBRC officials.

Sy and Landero told reporters after their arrest last Monday that they were just following orders from their superiors to collect "tax" from items for sale inside the jail.

According to them, the funds collected will be deposited to the administrative section for the purchase of office supplies and for fares and allowances of jail guards escorting inmates to attend court hearings.

However, the guards recanted their statements when BBRC officials presented them in a press conference.

Sy and Landero have been charged with violation of Republic Act 6713, otherwise known as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, but were able to post P10,000 bail each for their temporary liberty. They were arrested by elements of the National Bureau of Investigation during an entrapment operation inside the BBRC.

A wife of one of the inmates sought the help from the NBI after the accused allegedly demanded P255 as "tax" of the items she intend to bring for her husband inside.

The guards were caught in the act of receiving the marked-money by the NBI operatives.

Meanwhile, the increasing inmates at the BBRC prompted Councilor Edgardo Labella to call on the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology to undertake a profiling of all the detainees.

Labella, chairman of the council committee on laws, ordinance, public accountability and good government, also asked the Integrated Bar of the Philippines to take steps in decongesting the jail to avert possible outbreak of security-related incidents and diseases.

The jail facility was designed to accommodate only 250 inmates but it presently houses more than 2,500 detainees.

"A well prepared profile of BBRC inmates will not only be a source of information to concerned government agencies, but, will also serve as a clear guide in initiating appropriate measures to help address the jail management woes," Labella said in his proposal.

Labella said the overcrowding at BBRC might bring problem considering that it is reportedly not manned by trained jail officers and guards. He also cited that most of the inmates are awaiting trials and some are just overstayed.

In a memorandum dated January 15, 2003, BJMP chief of directorial staff Antonio Cruz said that there are ways to grant prisoners an early release, which could significantly reduce jail population especially in urban areas.

Cruz said the success of this program relies mainly on wardens and their paralegal officers who should regularly monitor the cases of their wards. - Fred P. Languido and Garry B. Lao