Warden tried to hide "mauling" at CPDRC?

CEBU, Philippines - The result of the investigation conducted by the committee on Discipline and Investigation of the provincial government shows there was an attempt to hide the death of an inmate and the mauling of another detainee at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center.

Lawyer Lito Astillero, Capitol consultant on discipline and investigation, in his report, said that the committee, during their visit to the jail facility last Monday to conduct an investigation, has observed that there was indeed an attempt to hide the death of inmate Angelito Cabalquinto and the injuries sustained by Benjie Ondet by jail warden Alito Gabuya and some inmates involved in the mauling incident last week.

The committee was also perplexed why the jail warden also failed to inform immediately the Office of the Governor the deaths and the mauling incidents that occurred at the jail last week as he also failed to report to the governor the real cause of death of Cabalquinto.

Gabuya allegedly only reported that Cabalquinto died when he fell after he got outbalanced while hanging his clothes. Investigators however found out that he died due to a mauling incident that took place inside the jail last Thursday.

It was also learned during the investigation that no proper medical care was immediately given to the inmates concerned.

Because of these lapses, Astillero recommended to Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to impose disciplinary actions against the jail warden for relaying false report to the Office of the Govenor and for his failure to give medical attention to the injured inmates and his failure to monitor the activities of the inmates.

Astillero pointed out that Gabuya made up stories when he reported to the governor that Cabalquinto died by accident after he fell while hanging his clothes. Further, Astillero added that had the warden dug deeper into the real incident, there could have been no controversy that erupted.

Astillero said everything was “blown out of proportion” because Gabuya did not give a report on the real incident.

Because of this, another investigation will be conducted against the jail warden and some jailguards who are involved in the controversy next week. But Astillero explained that the investigation will focus on Gabuya for command responsibility.

Astillero said an investigation should be conducted first in order to give Gabuya due process before disciplinary actions are imposed against him.

The investigating committee has likewise recommended for the installation of additional CCTV cameras at the CPDRC that could further monitor the activities of the inmates.

It is also recommended that jailguards should do frequent and random roving within the facility because, according to Astillero, they have found out that these activities are seldom conducted.

This as jailguards should also conduct frequent random search for deadly weapons and tighten the inspections of visitors.

The committee also recommends providing legal assistance to the relatives of inmates Angelito Cabalquinto and Benjie Ondet in the event that they will file a case.

The committee’s final report was immediately submitted to Garcia yesterday morning. The governor said she fully agrees with the recommendations of the investigators.

In fact, Garcia said that Commission on Human Rights-7 head Alejandro Alonzo already sent a letter to her asking permission if they could also conduct their own investigation and access to the jail facility with regards to the incidents inside the provincial jail, which the governor granted. (THE FREEMAN)