Newly-appointed Bacolod City Jail Warden Rizaldy Navarro yesterday said the jail in Barangay Handumanan needs to be decongested with 287 male inmates occupying 12 cells or an average of 24 detainees in every cell.

To decongest the jail, Navarro said he will tap para-legal assistance for the inmates to help facilitate their cases in court.

He added that the jail was designed to accommodate only 130 inmates and the number of detainees at present is too big for the jail. Of the 287 inmates, almost 20 percent are charged with murder while 18 percent face drug-related cases, Navarro said.

He also said that there are only 15 jail officers manning the facility and inmates have a P40 a day meal allowance.

The 90 female inmates are separated from the male inmates and they have their own jail warden, Navarro said.

Inmates are encouraged to attend religious activities every weekend and to join the jail’s physical fitness program, he said.

Prior to his assignment in Bacolod City, Navarro served as jail warden of the Kabankalan City Jail.

With his assistant Senior Inspector Edwin Abontosa, Navarro paid a courtesy call to Mayor Evelio Leonardia at the Bacolod City Hall.

He said his new assignment in the city is part of the regionwide revamp of jail wardens in Western Visayas.

Navarro replaced Jail Warden Gregorio Gopeteo who was assigned in Guimaras.*NAB

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