ILOILO City – The recent confiscation of contrabands at the Iloilo District Jail (IDJ) in Barangay Nanga, Pototan, Iloilo has led to the reshuffling of jail wardens of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Western Visayas.
BJMP regional director Jail Senior Superintendent Joel Superficial ordered the revamp in a bid to stop the smuggling of contrabands at the IDJ.
IDJ warden Jail Superintendent John Montero has been reassigned to the Directorial Staff at the BJMP regional office. Replacing him is Superintendent Vicente Papelera, the warden of the Iloilo City District Jail in Barangay Ungka, Jaro district here.
The Iloilo City District Jail also has a problem with smuggled contrabands.
Superintendent Larry Fuentes of the Metro Bacolod District Jail – Male Dormitory with Special Intensive Care Area was ordered to take over Papelera’s post at the Iloilo City District Jail.
Electronic gadgets – cellular phones and an iPad – were recovered from IDJ inmates on April 25 by operatives of the BJMP regional office and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Montero was subsequently charged administratively for conduct grossly prejudicial to the best interest of the service while his 10 jail guards were charged with simple neglect of duty.
One of the mobile phones seized at the IDJ belonged to high-profile inmate Jesus “Jing-jing” Espinosa Jr. of Barangay Monica Blumentritt, Iloilo City.
Espinosa was a former councilman in his barangay. He is serving an eight-year prison sentence for frustrated murder as accomplice to the crime.
The iPad, on the other hand, was seized from the former barangay captain of Rizal, La Paz, Iloilo City, Jolly Peñasales.
Peñasales was a drug suspect arrested in a buy-bust operation in August 2017.
Montero said the entry of contrabands at the IDJ should not be blamed on him, and cited the jail’s lack of manpower to monitor and supervise inmates.
But he admitted having allowed Peñasales to have an iPad. He said the inmate complained having difficulty sleeping and playing the Candy Crush game on the iPad would help him fall asleep.
Montero also did not discount the possibility that some of his men may have connived with inmates and jail visitors to smuggle the contrabands inside the prison facility.
The 10 IDJ personnel charged with simple neglect of duty were Senior Jail Officer 1 Garry Paniza, Jail Officer 2 Alexis Paniza, Jail Officer 2 Ramil Ventura, Jail Officer 2 Ballacabe, Jail Officer 1 Francis Ballador, Jail Officer 1 Joel Legario, Jail Officer 1 Robert Borlado, Jail Officer 1 Enrico Espiritu Jr., Jail Officer 1 July Posadas, and Jail Officer 1 Abel Blancaflor.
Papelera, meanwhile, considered his IDJ assignment a “big challenge”, noting the prison facility’s large number of inmates.
“But I will only work honestly and impose the rules and regulations,” said Papelera.
The IDJ has nearly 2,000 inmates, almost twice the number of inmates at the Iloilo City District Jail.
Papelera’s successor at the Iloilo City District Jail is expected to have an easier time prosecuting smugglers of contrabands at the prison facility. The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Iloilo City approved on second and final reading in April a proposed ordinance penalizing the smuggling of contrabands in jails.
Authored by Councilor Eduardo Peñaredondo, the ordinance prohibits the unauthorized bringing into city prison facilities of mobile phones, handsets and other gadgets or devices of similar nature.
“In the possession of inmates, these gadgets pose a threat to the security of jails, their fellow inmates, personnel of the BJMP, and the public,” said Peñaredondo.
The ordinance penalizes the violators.
“The purpose of this ordinance is to prevent inmates from communicating with other persons in or outside the jail and plan or pursue criminal activities,” explained Peñaredondo.
The violators’ maximum penalty is 180 days in prison and a fine of P5,000.
The contrabands will be confiscated in favor of the BJMP.
If the offender is a minor, Peñaredondo said the law on minors will be applied.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod crafted this ordinance following an appeal from Papelera. According to him, the problem persisted because there were no heavy penalties imposed on the smugglers (visitors of inmates).
Meanwhile, the revamp of the three jail wardens also triggered a reshuffling of five more BJMP Region 6 personnel.
Jail Chief Inspector Ruth Estales, administrator of the Negros Occidental provincial jail, was tasked to take over Fuentes’ post at the Metro Bacolod District Jail – Male Dormitory while Jail Senior Inspector Jimmy Britanico was ordered to handle Estales’ post.
On the other hand, Chief Inspector John Vincent Ybiernas, head of the BJMP-6 Directorial Staff, was appointed provincial jail administrator in Iloilo province.
Senior Inspector Gerry Ann Marcelino, Guimaras’ provincial jail administrator, was made provincial jail administrator in Negros Occidental.
Antique got a new provincial jail administrator, too – Inspector Raul Laquinario./PN
