Road to Palawan

Palawan’s attractions are myriad and internationally renowned: a nature park and underground river system, a significant archeological site, idyllic islands that host luxurious high-end resorts, and excellent Vietnamese food, thanks to the many refugees who ended up at the processing center there. Although the Vietnamese population in Palawan has significantly been reduced due to a recent spate of repatriation to the U.S., those who married locals remain on the island with their families and continue to run their very popular restaurants.

But last week it was neither the resorts nor the food–though that is always a most welcome bonus–that brought me to Puerto Princesa, capital of Palawan. The insistence of Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes that I had to see for myself what is going on at the Puerto Princesa City Jail piqued my curiosity. Besides, Puerto Princesa is one of my favorite cities, and the thought of bringing home those crusty baguettes and delicious lamayo served as added incentive.

Proof of Puerto Princesa’s emerging prosperity is the fact that three airlines now fly the route from Manila. Philippine Airlines and Air Philippines have mornings round trip flights; we chose Asian Spirit, which has an afternoon turn-around schedule. All have pretty good passenger and cargo loads. There used to be direct flights between Puerto Princesa and Seoul, Korea to accommodate the many honeymoon couples and other Korean tourists, but that seems to be a seasonal schedule.

* * *

The Puerto Princesa City jail is located in the heart of the city, near the Palawan State University. The city jail is under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). What gave rise to this rather unusual invitation was a recent visit Secretary Reyes made to Palawan, which included a stop at the jail. With short notice and despite pouring rain, the Secretary went around the cells and other areas of the compound and spoke to the inmates and jail personnel; he was the first ranking official from the national government to ever set foot inside the jail compound. So impressed was Secretary Reyes by what he encountered there that he directed BJMP chief Director Arturo Alit to give an appropriate commendation to the jail management, headed by warden J/Chief Inspector Amado Concepcion Jr. The Secretary also directed the BJMP to give Concepcion a commendation and a meritorious promotion for "his effective and efficient management of the city jail".

But exactly what is going on at the jail?