District jail over congested by 206%
IF the Dagupan District Jail by the beach were a resort beach hotel, it can be said its capacity is overbooked by 206%!
Such is the state of the district jail that houses 459 inmates built for only 150.
This was conveyed by Chief Inspector Jun Melchor Boadilla, jail warden to the city councilors when he appeared at a committee hearing conducted by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP).
He said even the hallway of the jail is now crowded with inmates as all the cells are fully occupied.
Some inmates, he said, already have to put up hammocks to sleep on at night, which poses safety risks after one died last January 1 after falling from a hammock six feet down.
Almost 300 of the 459 inmates are from Dagupan and the rest from other towns in the fourth district.
Apprised of the situation, Mayor Belen Fernandez said she will study alternatives for the transfer of the jail to a bigger location.
Boadilla had informed the mayor that he is seeking help from the central office of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to construct a new two-storey building inside the jail compound to help ease the congestion.
Councilor Jose Netu Tamayo noted that when he recently visited the district jail, one can no longer see the concrete floor because of the number of inmates who were squatting.
Asked by councilors whether the water from the septic tank of the jail is still overflowing into the beach, Boadilla said they already have a water treatment plant and assured that any water flowing out is already treated.
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