GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) allocated PHP28 million for the construction of additional cells this year at the “overcrowded” city jail or reformatory center here.
Supt. Peter Bongat, city jail warden, said Thursday the preparatory works are underway for the full implementation of the project by the second quarter of the year.
He said they are currently processing the required documents, among them the deed of donation from the city government for the jail’s current site in Purok Lanton, Barangay Apopong.
BJMP transferred the city jail to Purok Lanton in the late 90s in a property donated by a local clan to the city government.
But Bongat said there were no available documents regarding the site’s transfer then to the BJMP, prompting them to secure an official deed of donation from the local government.
He said they raised such matter to City Mayor Ronnel Rivera during their “New Year’s Call” last week at the city hall.
The mayor then ordered lawyer Armand Clarin, city legal officer, to prepare a draft resolution seeking authority from the city council for the processing of the deed of donation for city jail site.
“The mayor set a timeline of three weeks for the issuance of the deed of donation,” he said in a radio interview.
Once issued, Bongat said BJMP-12’s bids and awards committee will immediately proceed with the project’s bidding.
Under the project, he said they are targeting the construction of 28 additional cells within the city jail compound.
He said such projection was based on the prevailing estimated construction cost per jail cell of PHP1 million.
When completed, Bongat said the additional cells would be a big relief to the inmates and their personnel citing that the jail’s current congestion rate already reached 750 percent.
He added the facility was designed to house 250 inmates but its present population reaches around 2,300. (PNA)
