BOARD STARTS PROBE OF DRUG SMUGGLING IN JAIL

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan - The provincial board, or Sangguniang
Panlalawigan has started its investigation on the alleged rampant
smuggling of shabu and other illegal drugs into the provincial jail.

During the investigation, the board also expressed surprise why an
officer of the Philippine National Police (PNP) continued to act as
the prisons chief instead of a jail warden assigned by the Bureau of
Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

The investigation is an offshoot of the confiscation of more than 117
grams of shabu during a surprise inspection by the police and
provincial officials following complaints about a rampant drug
smuggling in the provincial jail.

The confiscation of the illegal drugs led to the ouster of Filemon
Doria as the provincial jail warden.

He was also accused of providing "special treatment" to alleged drug
lords detained at the provincial jail while undergoing trial in court.

Doria was replaced by Insp. Jerich Royales of the PNP as the
provincial jail officer-in-charge (OIC).

During the hearing, Geraldine Baniqued, the provincial legal officer,
told the board that Royales would remain as provincial jail OIC until
Gov. Victor Agbayani had appointed a permanent replacement.

Royales, Baniqued, Senior Supt. Mario Sandiego, the Pangasinan
provincial police director, and Supt Rogelio Magno, chief of the PNP
Special Operations Group in Pangasinan, attended the hearing on
invitation of the board.

In his testimony, Royales said he already instituted reforms to
prevent a repetition of the smuggling of drugs into the provincial
jail.

These included the limiting of the number of jail visitors as well as
the visiting hours; the imposition of a no-smoking ban; and the
removal of special treatment for some detainees, especially the drug
suspects.

The board was equally interested in the continued stay of Royales, a
PNP officer, as the jail OIC.

Baniqued said that while the provincial jail is under the supervision
and control of the provincial government, the BJMP declined to take
over the function due to lack of funds.

Asked why the police are helping run the jail, Baniqued said it was
wiser to seek the assistance of the members of the PNP while the
governor [Agbayani] is considering who to appoint as head of the
provincial jail."

Royales was named jail OIC on May 29 and his appointment was to end on
Friday.

The provincial jail, located in Barangay Poblacion in the capital town
of Lingayen, is in an old, semi-concrete building adjacent to the
municipal building.

The facility is being manned by at least 53 guards-12 of whom work as
office employee, 34 as members of escort groups and seven others with
the detached services unit.

For this year, the provincial government has allocated at least P11
million for food and maintenance expenses of the jail. The daily meal
allowance of a prisoner is P30.

The facility is fast deteriorating, with its wooden ceiling
dilapidated, open overhang, weak fence, and so on.

As of Monday, there were 248 inmates, more than double the jail's
maximum capacity of 120 detainees.