Suspect in city jail violence identified

CEBU, Philippines - Jail authorities have identified the suspect who allegedly hit a fellow inmate inside their cell at the Cebu City Jail a month ago.

That, as the Peace Coordinating and Advisory Council directed the warden of the Cebu City Jail to submit a report on the incident that seriously injured a 40-year-old inmate.

Supt. Johnson Calub, warden of Cebu City Jail, said they have placed the suspect under investigation since Monday after Nemia Ong reported that her son, Oliver, was battered 110 times inside his cell.

Calub said Oliver now shares a cell with SPO1 Adonis Dumpit and one other inmate. The warden explained that the transfer is part of procedure and in response to Ong’s request to protect her son from further harm.

Calub also clarified that what happened was not a case of hazing but maltreatment.

“Pasalamat sad mi sa inahan kay nitug-an siya namo aron among ma-aksyonan,” he said. (We are thankful that the mother brought this to our attention so that we could make an immediate action.)

Supt. Efren Nemeño, assistant regional director of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) – 7, assured that they will closely monitor the incident.

Nemeño said the suspect might also face another criminal complaint for what he did to Oliver, who reported having blood in his urine after the incident. Jail officers who were on-duty during the incident might also face administrative complaint if investigation show they were neglecting their work.

Nemeño, however, said jail officers could not monitor over 2,000 inmates of the Cebu City Jail. In a shift, there are roughly 20 jail officers patrolling and manning the towers and the entrances.

Installation of security cameras at the cells is prohibited, he said, citing the need to protect the rights of the inmates.  

PCAC Presiding Officer Eugene Elizalde for his part assured that the inmate is already under a maximum security and that the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology is already investigating the matter.

Elizalde said that initial reports he received from Calub indicate that there was no hazing, only “more of a punishment kuno because he was being suspected as a police asset.”

“I don’t know what they mean by a police asset. How can they do that when they’re all in jail?” Elizalde asked.

The mother of the inmate who wrote President Aquino seeking assistance to save her son was advised to pursue a complaint for physical injury against those who mauled her son, who sustained severe injuries from being beaten over a 100 times inside the cell more than a month ago.

As ordered by the mayor, PCAC will dig dipper into the case. PCAC ordered the BJMP to assess the seriousness of the threat so they can provide the inmate the security needed.

Elizalde said that the inmate is facing three different cases, the latest is a drugs case.

–(FREEMAN)