The provincial government of South Cotabato has allotted this year an initial P4 million for the construction of additional cells and other vital facilities at the provincial jail in Koronadal City.
Ariel Sionosa, administrative officer of the South Cotabato Reformatory and Detention Center or provincial jail, said Monday they are currently working on a proposal for the expansion of the women’s cells in a bid to ease congestion problems.
He said South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes had personally pushed such move and committed the needed funding for the project.
“That is considered as one of the major needs of the jail and we adopted it among our top priorities for implementation this year,” he said.
The current population of the provincial jail, which is managed by the local government, stands at 1,236 based on latest records.
The jail’s congestion rate has reached 167 percent, with its ideal population only for 463 based on the existing cells and facilities.
Sionosa said they completed last month the installation of 10 closed-circuit television cameras in strategic areas of the jail compound to enhance security operations.
The security cameras mainly assist in the monitoring of entry of contrabands, he said.
At the jail’s main entrance, he said they deployed three K-9 units to help detect illegal items.
“We also fortified the perimeter fences at the main gate area, kitchen and mess hall,” he said.
Sionosa said aside from the construction of additional cells, a workshop building for women inmates will also be built this year.
He said the facility will serve as venue for various livelihood training programs.
The livelihood trainings will be conducted in coordination with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, he added.
In 2016, the provincial jail management escorted a total of 1,674 inmates to their court hearings and referred 272 for medical treatment or hospital confinement.
Officials also referred for treatment at the Southern Philippines Medical Center’s Psychiatry Department in Davao City some 21 inmates who were suffering from mental illness. (PNA)
