Judge to retire from youth center board

CEBU City’s center for youth offenders, Operation Second Chance, will need a new board chairman following the retirement of Regional Trial Court Judge Olegario Sarmiento in September this year.

In a recent interview, Sarmiento said he will meet with board members, including Cebu City Councilor Margot Osmeña, before relinquishing his post as chairman of the Operation Second Chance Management Board.

The youth facility in barangay Kalunasan wrestles with problems of overcrowding and the transition of management from police guards to an all-civilian staff.

Last March, violence broke out after underage inmates detained one of the guards and stabbed another in response. The uprising was a reaction to complaints of maltreatment by security personnel.

Sarmiento has been part of the Operation Second Chance Management Board since 2004.

Three of eight jail guards were sacked following the March incident. The facility has a capacity of 100 inmates but is holding 170 youths.

Cebu City was the first local government to establish a separate facility for minor offenders in order to keep boys and girls in conflict with the law from mingling with adult offenders in the city jail.

After the March hostage-taking, Sarmiento said local government units should take full responsibility for the facilities for minors as mandated under Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act.

The city government is recruiting house parents and staff to run Operation Second Chance so they won’t have to rely on PNP guards of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology. /Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol