Pubdate: Wed, 26 Oct 2005
Source: Sun.Star Cebu (Philippines)
Copyright: 2005 Sun.Star
Contact:  http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1690
Author: EOB
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/women.htm (Women)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/areas/Philippines

MOST WOMEN INMATES FACE DRUG-RELATED CASES

Majority of female inmates at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center
(BBRC) are facing drug-related cases, said the deputy jail warden for
the women's dormitory.

SJO4 Merlina Metante yesterday said they have 221 women prisoners, 80
percent of whom were arrested for using and selling illegal drugs. The
rest were charged with estafa. One is charged with murder.

Mandaue City Jail Warden Jose D. Moring said that of the 497 inmates
in the jail, nearly half, or 42 percent, are facing drug-related
cases. The other prisoners are facing charges for crimes against
person and property.

Metante and Moring said that if the illegal drug problem in Cebu will
be eradicated, inmate population in various jails will greatly reduced.

Jobs In Jail

Giving jobs to prisoners will also ease their loneliness, they said
during the Association of Government Information Officers forum yesterday.

The jail officials said several companies that export fashion
accessories deliver raw materials to the jail and pay the inmates for
"job-out" assignments.

Because of this, some inmates are now the ones who give money to their
families, Moring said. Having a livelihood also improves the
relationship among prisoners.

Last week, inmates in the Mandaue City Jail celebrated the feast of
the Our Lady of Fatima by pooling part of their income for food and
drinks.

"They are happy. They don't feel like prisoners," Moring
said.

Fr. Nestor R. Caber, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology 7 regional
chaplain, urged the people to support their Inmates Welfare and
Development Program to help convicts return to normal life after their
release from prison.

Caber believes that once released from jail, the inmates would not
return to their old ways, if the community accepts them.

"I told the inmates in my sermon that going back to normal life is a
personal decision. We want to help them so they will be accepted by
the community, but we have no resources for it," Caber said.
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