TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, October 31 (PIA) –To simply look at it, drastically cutting Bohol jail population is as simple as making ways to take out those facing drug suits, of which number over half of the 1038 committed in the five jails here.
That however is easier said than done.
The situation is made bleaker with the continuing uptrend in the number of drug cases filed, even at the level of the Regional Trial Courts.
According to Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) from July to September, the RTC saw 125 drug cases filed before it.
That same span of time of three months, Bohol only saw six convictions, three acquittals and five dismissed cases, PDEA bared at the recent Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) meeting October 30.
At this current rate, curbing the swelling population at the jails may not be as easy.
A report delivered by Bohol District Jail warden, Jail Senior Inspector Jose RusylviAbueva at the recent Provincial Peace and Order Council meeting revealed that persons committed in Bohol jails due to drug related problems number 541.
In his report, Inspector Abueva, who also administers four more jails aside from the BDJ, showed that violations against Republic Act 9165 significantly populate the jails, several times over murder which ranks second among the top crimes committing persons in detention centers.
At the BDJ for example, as of October 26, 2015, of the 541 presently detained in jails, 321 are kept to be easily available for the different stages of case litigation from pre-trial conferences, arraignment, trial and those awaiting promulgation or service sentences.
At the Tagbilaran City District Jail, of the 201 detainees, 105 of them are facing drug suits.
Of the 105, 10 are on pretrial conference, three are presently arraigned, 85 are on trial and six are awaiting case promulgation while one is serving his sentence.
At the Carmen District Jail, one detainee is on arraignment while 30 are in trial, at the jail where its population is 87.
In Talibon District Jail, with a population of 87 detainees, 52 detainees are on trial for the different violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act, according to Abueva’s reports to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, of which he is an officer.
At the Ubay District Jail, 54 of the 122 inmates are currently kept safe to respond to drug accusations.
Of the 54, five are on pre-trial conference, one on arraignment and 58 are on trial, Abueva pointed out. (rac/PIA-7/Bohol)
