BJMP official flip-flops on Cebu jail visits

CEBU CITY — It was a good start, but it did not last long.

After ordering the demolition of shanties and divisions in the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC) and imposing strict rules for visitations, Reynaldo Berdin, assistant regional director of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, merely gave in to the whims of the inmates.

The wives and other immediate relatives of inmates can still spend the night at the jail every Saturday after all.

After Berdin told the media last Friday that immediate relatives would no longer be allowed to spend the night at the BBRC, Berdin later changed his decision.

Warden Mamerto Baroro told reporters that Berdin changed his mind out of "humanitarian consideration."

He said Berdin was only mad last Friday after the inmates delayed the destruction of their kubol (makeshift tents) despite the deadline the previous day, as both sides had agreed upon.

Baroro said he asked Berdin to reconsider his decision after the officers of Batang Cebu 45, the lone organization of inmates at the BBRC, approached him last Friday night.

He said Berdin then told him to allow wives and other relatives be with their detained loved ones every Saturday evening.

But those who opt to spend the night will have to do so without privacy.

Meanwhile, Interior and Local Government Undersecretary for Peace and Order Marius Corpuz said there is nothing wrong with Berdin’s change of decision.

Corpuz said conjugal visits on weekends are allowed under BJMP rules and regulations, besides being a basic human right.

"You must remember (that most of the inmates) are undergoing trial and they are not yet convicted," he said.

But he added that jail officials should make sure that only those who are legal spouses are allowed during the conjugal visits.

The other day, visitors had to present legal documents such as marriage contracts, birth certificates and barangay clearances to prove that the inmates they were going to visit are related to them.

Meanwhile, an "attitudinal approach" was identified as the first step in curbing the blunders and scandalous activities that have hounded the BBRC.

In a meeting the other day, an oversight committee, headed by Parole and Probation Authority administrator Gregorio Bacolod, said problems at the BBRC must be addressed first at the sociological level.

The oversight committee is identifying areas for reform at the city jail.

The idea of forming such a committee came on the heels of Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s request for the sacking of Corpuz and all BJMP officials in Central Visayas due to alleged poor management and anomalies at the BBRC. — Freeman News Service