By Shiela Mae Butlig
Correspondent .
MISAMIS Oriental Provincial Jail now only have 400 inmates, almost half of the number of inmates they held in 2017 which was 850 inmates.
This was according to Provincial Jail warden, Dominador Tagarda in a departmental press briefing held at the Capitol last Friday.
Tagarda attributes the dip in number of inmates to the Department of Justice’s plea bargaining agreement program.
A plea bargaining agreement is the disposition of criminal charges by agreement between the prosecution and the accused. It usually involves the defendant’s pleading guilty to a lesser offense or to only one or some of the countrs of a multi-count indictment in return for a lighter sentence than that for the graver charge.
“Ubay-ubay ang binilanggo nato ang natagaan sa kahigayunan nga musanong sa ilang mga kaso ug pag amendar niini ug natagaan nalang sila sa gamay nga silot,” said Tagarda.
Most of the inmates who have availed the plea bargaining agreement, Tagarda added, had cases of violating the Dangerous Drugs Act (RA 9165).
Tagarda also said the program has helped in decongesting the jail. The holding capacity of the provincial jail is pegged at 250 inmates.
To further decongest the facility, he said they allow senior citizens, crippled and sickly inmates to become trustees, which meant that they would be allowed to be outside the cells.
“Gipagawas namo ni sila para magtabang ug luto, mag gutad sa utan for their fellow inmates,” Tagarda explained.
They also recorded a zero escape last year and no record of female inmates getting pregnant while serving their sentences.
Tagarda also announced that the provincial jail is now a drug-free facility. He said they have not found any illegal drugs during their Oplan Galugad.
Even with this accomplishments, Tagarda still looks forward for the provincial jail to be transferred to Andales, Initao town which has a five-hectare lot.
“Ang yuta ready na. Maayo kayo nga lugar ang yuta makatanom gyud ang mga inmate kay lima man ka ektarya. Makatanom sila didto makahimo ug livelihood ug makahimo pud ug building sa Tesda nga gisaad sa gobernador [Yevgeny Vincente Emano],” Tagarda said.
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