Baguio jail tightens watch over banned items

BAGUIO CITY—Annoyed by cigarettes and mobile telephones that find their way to inmates, administrators of the Baguio City jail have asked the city council to enact an ordinance penalizing family members or other visitors who smuggle “nuisance contraband.”

Prison guidelines require guests to deposit their belongings outside the jailhouse before they see inmates but some visitors still try to sneak in cash, electronic devices or cigarettes, according to jail warden Crispin Dornagon.

Lawyers covered

Jail employees can only blacklist guests suspected of bringing in banned items, Dornagon told the council on Monday when it deliberated on a proposed ordinance that would penalize the sources of prison contraband with fines of as much as P3,000.

The measure seeks to cover even the inmates’ counsels, which surprised lawyers in the council who said they were normally granted leeway when they sew their clients.

“There was one instance when a lawyer smuggled six packs of cigarettes,” Dornagon said, after the Baguio jail was declared as a smoke-free zone last year.

Cigarettes serve as jailhouse currency and a pack can be sold for as much as P4,500, he said.

As of Sept. 9, the Baguio jail had 372 male inmates and around 80 female inmates.

The proposed ordinance also seeks to prevent visitors from handing cash to inmates, who are only allowed to keep up to P1,000.

Dornagon said administrative cases had been filed against some jail officers for negligence due to the entry of contraband. These officers had also been suspended. —VINCENT CABREZA