CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) has a new warden.
Following the announcement of Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia last Wednesday that former warden Alito Gabuya will be reassigned pending resolution of an investigation on the death and injuries of inmates, a turnover of command immediately took place yesterday morning.
Garcia yesterday appointed Prison Guard III Algier Comendador as the new Acting Warden at the CPDRC to replace Gabuya, who is now with the Civil Security Unit.
Aside from Comendador, the governor also appointed yesterday Prison Guard II Reynaldo Pepito Jr. as the acting assistant warden.
Garcia yesterday said that although both Comendador and Pepito have the same rank, she chose Comendador because he is more senior than Pepito.
Comendador also once served as warden of the jail facility.
It was Provincial Administrator Eduardo Habin, Provincial Attorney Marino Martinquilla and Capitol Consultant Jose Ma. Gastardo who handed the order yesterday morning.
Garcia also said that she tasked Gastardo to have a general inspection of the jail and make further recommendations.
Gastardo, when he was still a provincial board member, drafted the manual of operations of the CPDRC.
The said manual of operations, however, has not been used yet because of the absence of an ordinance to make it operational.
The governor said that she also wanted to include in the said manual of operations a provision on donations for the inmates because of their performances.
She wants accounting and transparency on these donations.
She also wants to have the roles of the minarias (the jail’s tanod enforcers) studied.
For her, there is a need to study the limitations of these tanods and have their functions defined.
Meanwhile, Garcia also announced yesterday that she has also made a choice from among the three names which the Senior Officers Promotion and Placement Board in Camp Crame submitted to her in July.
Camp Crame submitted the names of P Sr./Supt Dennis Serbio, P Sr/Supt Erson Digal and P Sr./Supt Ramon Rafael.
She already told Camp Crame last August 16 that she has chosen Digal as the permanent CPPO director. He has been on acting capacity for almost a year now.
Garcia said that she chose Digal after seeing his performance while serving in acting capacity. She sees him as “hardworking, trustworthy, competent, very professional and a gentleman.” (THE FREEMAN)