The Commission on Human Rights in Negros Oriental is investigating the alleged maltreatment and manhandling of inmates at the Dumaguete City Detention & Rehabilitation Center, a facility run by the Bureau of Jail Management & Penology.
CHR-Negros Oriental chief and special investigator Dr. Jess Cañete has disclosed that more or less ten inmates were found to have bruises on their bodies, allegedly inflicted by members of the BJMP-Negros Island Region or Region 18, based in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental who conducted a surprise inspection at the Dumaguete City jail at dawn Monday, March 27.
The inspection came in the heels of reports of illegal drugs trading coming from within the city jail, and the confiscation of shabu on separate occasions from inside the facility.
During the said inspection, the local BJMP personnel on duty, including jail warden Sr. Insp. Roly Bandeling, were on hand to witness the activity.
At least two media practitioners were allowed inside the facility but later on they were made to leave the premises while other reporters who also came later to cover the inspection were not allowed inside the jail.
According to the CHR provincial chief, initial investigation he conducted showed that the BJMP team from Bacolod arrived at dawn Monday, springing a surprise inspection at the city jail.
They were fully armed and many of them were young men, Cañete said, quoting two trustees he had interviewed late Monday, corroborating early media reports of the inspection dubbed Operation Greyhound or Operation Galugad.
BJMP Region 18 regional director Sr. Supt. Henan Grande headed the inspection team of about 50 jail guards armed with automatic rifles and handguns.
All 510 inmates were subjected to the inspection, although jail guards did not recover any shabu from them except for other items that were not allowed inside the facility such as cigarettes, lighters and playing cards, among others.
Dr. Cañete said he rushed to the city jail Monday afternoon after receiving reports that the detainees cried foul over the surprise inspection and that the inspecting team allegedly violated their human rights.
He learned during his initial investigation that the inmates were brought outside of their cells and were made to take off their shirts and drop to the ground face down.
During inspection, the BJMP personnel allegedly stepped on some of the inmates and butt-stroked others, according to Cañete.
The inmates told Cañete they did not do anything that called for such “maltreatment”.
Local jail guards who witnessed the inspection could not do anything as well because “they were from the region”, referring to the inspecting team coming from the BJMP-NIR Regional Office, the CHR official said.
Cañete has asked the jail warden, Sr. Insp. Bandeling, to furnish him the names of the BJMP-NIR inspecting team.
As of Wednesday, the CHR official already had a list of the BJMP personnel from the regional office although he still has to determine who among them had conducted the actual inspection.
Also, as part of his investigation, the CHR official has documented “evidence” through pictures and videos of inmates who showed physical signs of having been manhandled.
The City Health Office, headed by Dr. Ma. Sarah Talla, had conducted a medical examination the following day to determine the degree of hematomas, contusions and other injuries sustained by more than 10 detainees to support their complaint against the jail guards from the region.
One of the detainees injured is said to be related to a high ranking elected official of Dumaguete City.
Dr. Cañete said Vice Mayor Franklin Esmeña, Jr. has assured him that he will personally get the results of the medical examination from the City Health Office.
Meanwhile, BJMP inmates in Barangay Bajumpandan have cleared jail guards of the facility in the alleged manhandling and human rights violations of some detainees who were hurt and injured during the conduct of Operation Greyhound early dawn Monday.
The detainees, in an interview late Tuesday, instead pointed to “Ilongo-speaking” jail guards from the BJMP-NIR regional office as responsible for “treating them like pigs and criminals” while pointing their automatic rifles at them.
The inspecting team from Bacolod City, where the BJMP-NIR regional office is based, ordered the inmates to vacate the cells at around 4 a.m. Monday, were gathered in the court outside the cells and were told to remove their shirts.
Dr. Cañete said he has reasons to believe the narrations made by detainees while interviewing them about what transpired during the operation greyhound based on the physical appearance of the injuries.
Cañete made it clear the CHR will not allow the incident in Cebu to happen in the province, at least in his area of jurisdiction as he warned jail personnel he will bring this matter to the highest level of the BJMP and will be closely monitoring this case.
He was referring to the Cebu incident where naked inmates were photographed sitting inside a prison facility while a joint inspection by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Cebu Provincial Police Office was being conducted.
The CHR field investigator is already asking for the names of the more than 50 jail guards from Region 18 who accompanied the regional director Sr. Supt Hernan Grande during the operation, saying he will let them answer for the alleged manhandling of the inmates.
The CHR-Negros Oriental chief said that they may be detention prisoners and others may call them criminals, but the jail guards should show respect for them. (JFP/JG)
