The new Davao City Jail had its ground breaking ceremony at Barangay Wangan, Calinan Davao City on Friday.
The P369 multi-million project will be erected in an eight hectare land donated by Paulo and Abigail Garcia and will only house male inmates from the Davao City jail which is currently located at Davao City Jail Road, Talomo, Davao City.
That facility has a total budget of P369 million, P320 of which is allotted for the building which is funded by the government through Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and Congressman Karlo Alexei Nograles, who donated P49 million for the perimeter fence.
“It is a four story building. The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) envision this facility as a state of the art facility,” said Jail Inspector Edo Lobenia, spokesperson of BJMP Davao during an interview.
He said that this facility will greatly help address the congestion of the Davao City Jail because the male inmates of that facility will be transferred in the new Davao City jail once finished.
He said that the new facility can house more than 5,000 inmates.
“The Davao City Jail located in Jail Road, Talomo will become the Davao City Jail Annex because most of the male inmates will be transferred here and all that will be left on that facility are women, elderly and sickly inmates,” he said.
In an interview, Nograles said that they are also expanding the current Davao city jail by constructing an additional building intended for female inmates and an new building for the current Davao city jail annex both has a budget of P42 million.
He added that the construction of the new Davao City Jail in Barangay Wangan will commence after the ground breaking and will be finish in 2020.
In the speech of Nestor F. Quinsay, Undersecretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) that the facility will help address the 600 percent congestion rate as of 2016 nationwide.
Lobenia told the media that transporting the inmates going to the court will be challenge but he assures the public that BJMP has taken precautionary measures and surveyed the area and is ready for any eventuality and has a strong coordination with their law enforcement counterparts to ensure the safety.
The Department of Public Works and Highway will be implementing the project.
