Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon yesterday appealed to Pulupandan Mayor Magdaleno Peña to concentrate on governance and set aside personal differences since the elections are over.

The governor was reacting to questions raised on the plight of the inmates overflowing at the Pulupandan jail. Forty-five of the inmates had surrendered Saturday and three were arrested earlier on the strength of warrants of arrests issued against them for allegedly committing grave threats against supporters of Peña before the May 14 polls.

The 48 currently detained at the Pulupandan jail have been tagged as supporters of defeated mayoralty candidate Samson Mondia. The governor, however, stressed that he would not intervene in the case of the jailed Pulupandan residents because the court has assumed jurisdiction.

But the governor said he has instructed the Department of Social Welfare and Development to assist the 48 inmates in terms of food needs. Peña, in response to the governor, said he was concentrating on governance in Pulupandan, citing his addressing the need for garbage collection, dengue prevention, putting a stop to the theft of PLDT copper cables, collection of taxes, and peace and order.

He said the overflowing inmates at the jail was not his fault but that of Elda Mondia, wife of Samson Mondia.

The events should be put in their proper perspective, he said, in response to the governor.

He said it was not he who filed the charges against the 187 Mondia supporters, 48 of whom were at the Pulupandan jail, but five of his 26 supporters against whom they committed grave threats while they were in the former house of Councilor Hedy Gonzales in Pulupandan.

After the arrest of three Mondia supporters last week, Peña said, he suggested to the police to go slow on the arrest of the others and they, in fact, stopped.

However, it was Elsa Mondia who turned the rest over to the jail, he said.

"Even today she turned over two more but the chief of police told them to go home first," he said.

"It is not I who should be blamed for the present plight of these people but the Mondias for paying them P200 to cause trouble at the former residence of Hedy Gonzales and for their failure to post bail for these accused," he claimed.

In order to spare the governor and the other officials the waste of their time, Peña said he suggests to the Mondia family to put up their numerous properties as security for bail so that their supporters can get out of jail. Each of the 187 accused need P24,000 each to be released on bail.

His 26 supporters arrested in the Gonzales house were incarcerated for five days in the Pulupandan jail without a warrant and they did not complain to the governor, the media or the bishop, Peña added.

Mondia's reaction to Pena's statements was not available as of press time.

Judge Manuel Limsiaco of the Municipal Circuit Trial Court of Valladolid-San Enrique-Pulupandan has issued five separate warrants of arrest against the 187 based on five grave threats complaints for the same offense.

The supporters of Mondia surrendered at the Pulupandan jail on May 15 based on the warrants of arrests issued for Criminal Cases 07-055 P and 07-046. But Limsiaco, acting on a motion for their release, issued an order remanding them into the custody of outgoing Mayor Luis Mondia and Elda Mondia, wife of Samson on May 15.

But the complainants filed motions opposing the release of the accused and the court on June 22 issued new warrants of arrest for the Mondia supporters.

Limsiaco in recalling the release, ordered Elda and Luis Mondia to surrender all of the accused immediately upon receipt of the order or face contempt.

Senior Inspector Rone Grajo, OIC Pulupandan police chief, said he was not accepting additional Mondia supporters who were surrendering as he had returned the arrest warrants for the accused to the court after 45 turned themselves in.

The court will have to issue an alias warrant for me to take in the additional surrenderees, he said.

Meanwhile, he said he has filed a motion in court for the transfer of the inmates to the Negros Occidental provincial jail.*CPG

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