CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Mi-samis Oriental Governor Yevgeny Vincente Emano announced yesterday that the provincial government will introduce changes in its prison facility after about 40 sachets of suspected illegal drugs were found during an inspection that resulted in the suspension of five jail employees and dismissal of two others.
Gov. Emano said he will order the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras within and around the Misamis Oriental provincial jail (MOPJ) in Corrales-Luna Sts. to monitor movements of detainees and prison guards.
He said the putting up of CCTV cameras inside the MOPJ compound has been on his program, but has not yet been realized due to budgetary constraints.
In light of the alleged trafficking of illegal drugs inside the MOPJ, Emano said he request the provincial legislature to allow him to purchase CCTV cameras for the detention facility.
Following the discovery of the suspected packets of shabu concealed on roofs in the detention cells, five of the MOPJ personnel, one of them a ranking provincial jail official, were identified by Emano as alleged to be in cahoots with inmates in slipping the illegal substance into the prison.
He said two of the jail guards, who were on job-order contracts, had already been dismissed from service, while the three are on a 60-day preventive suspension starting July 11, pending investigation conducted by the provincial administrator’s office. (Camcer Imam)