Maasin willing to
donate lot for new city jail, says BJMP
By BONG PEDALINO, PIA Southern
Leyte
October 8, 2011
MAASIN CITY, Southern
Leyte – The city local government unit is willing to partake of a
reclaimed lot within city to be used as the site for a new city jail.
This was learned from
Eleuterio Ortiz, Provincial Head and concurrent City Warden of the
Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
At the weekly “Media
Forum” Wednesday where he was the guest live at dyDM, Ortiz quoted
City Mayor Maloney Samaco as saying the new prison facility can be
located at the reclamation area in barangay Combado, this city.
The new structure will
be a two-storey building, but details on specific area or how much
would be the cost-sharing between the BJMP and the city government for
the project are still unknown as of the moment.
How soon such a
project can start in its construction stage was also another unknown
factor, even as Ortiz hoped it can be realized sooner than later.
Ortiz earlier
disclosed a resolution passed by the city council that called for the
relocation of the city jail in barangay Bactul, a far-flung, interior
barangay more than 15 kilometers from the city proper.
He said he lobbied for
reconsideration of the planned Bactul site, citing as reason its far
location from the authorities which could pose as an invitation for
enemies of state to rescue one of their own, if ever.
The present city jail
at the old municipal building in the heart of the city has been
cramped and crowded, with its present population of 58 inmates,
including one lady, in a jail capacity of only 30 prisoners, Ortiz
said, adding that the edifice itself was already dilapidated and
needed major repairs.
This building will
be re-invented and be transformed into a museum once the jail
occupants can be transferred to the new location, Ortiz added.