By Fayette C. Riñen
CEBU CITY,
October 22 (PIA) -- With over congestion still a perennial problem of jail
facilities in Central Visayas, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology
(BJMP-7) expressed optimism that RA 10592 will answer the issue of
overpopulation of its 34 jail centers in the region.
J/S Inspector Elsie
Eireen Alcomendras, chief of the Community Relations Office of BJMP-7 said the
total inmate population in Central Visayas is about 9,000 which ideally should
only be 3,000 for its 34 jail facilities.
Cebu has the most number
of jail facilities with 17 out of the total 34 regionwide followed by Negros
Oriental with 11 while Bohol has five and Siquijor with one, said Alcomendras.
According to
Alcomendras, Cebu’s total inmate population stands at 7,001 with Negros
Oriental far behind with 1,222 inmates and Bohol with 777 while Siquijor has
only 82 prisoners.
“An average increase of
10 percent inmate population per year compounds the problem,” said Alcomendras.
But RA 10592 which took
effect last June can be the remedy on the perpetual over congestion problem as
it allows deduction of the period of sentence of an inmate for good behavior.
“With the new law, this
can actually decongest about 70 percent of our jail facilities,” said
Alcomendras.
“The Good Conduct Time
Allowance or GCTA under RA 10592 allows the deduction of 20 days from an
inmate’s period of sentence for each month of good behavior in the first two
years of detention,” said Alcomendras.
Alcomendras further said
another 15 days can also be deducted from the inmate’s period of sentence for
each month of teaching and mentoring service rendered.
“Actually, there was
already an inmate that benefited from the GCTA. Her case was quite minor with
only two months sentence period and with the deduction for good behavior, she
was released even before fully serving her sentence,” bared Alcomendras.
The BJMP-7 community
relations chief said a Monitoring and Screening Evaluation Committee is formed
headed by the prison’s warden to determine the eligibility of an inmate to
qualify for the GCTA. (rmn/fcr/PIA-7)