The construction of a new P100 million jail for Negros Occidental in Bago City is expected to start soon, while assessment of the market value of the provincial government-owned property behind the Capitol is underway so it can be sold, Gov. Isidro Zayco said yesterday.

The new jail will be built on a three-hectare property owned by the provincial government, and will eventually be turned over to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology to manage, he said.

The present Negros Occidental Provincial Jail in Bacolod City is being run by the provincial government at a cost of about P24 million a year, Zayco said, and the amount will increase with a hike in the food budget of the inmates.

So building a new jail that will be ran by the BJMP will be more cost-efficient for the provincial government in the long run, he said.

Zayco said the turnover of the management of the new provincial jail to the BJMP in about three years’ time will be contained in a Memorandum of Agreement.

The Department of Interior and Local Government will make Negros Occidental a pilot area in its takeover of the provincial jail management, Zayco said.

Meanwhile, Zayco said, up for sale is provincial government property behind the provincial Capitol in Bacolod City.

Assessment of the market value of the 9-hectare property is currently being undertaken so funds gained from the sale of the property can be used to further improve provincial government run hospitals, roads and agricultural facilities.*CPG

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