Gwen orders probe of inmate’s ‘suicide’ in jail

CEBU Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday ordered an investigation into the death of a 30-year-old inmate who allegedly committed suicide inside an isolation cell in the Cebu provincial jail.

The  family of inmate Ricky Salidega said they suspected “foul play” in his death and that he was actually mauled by fellow inmates.

Salidega was found hanging by the neck with a blanket tied to a metal railing in his cell.

Acting jail warden Algier Comendador denied allegations that Salidega died as a result of hazing by inmates.

The governor tasked Capitol consultants lawyers Rory Jon Sepulveda and Jose Maria Gastardo to handle the inquiry.

Gastardo told Cebu Daily News that sworn statements of the jail guard and inmates who helped carry out Salidega’s body from the cell were  submitted to lawyer Lito Astillero and retired colonel Cesar Veloso.

Astillero heads the Capitol’s committee head on discipline and investigation. Veloso is a  Capitol peace and order consultant.

A  autopsy report from the Cebu Provincial Office crime laboratory was also submitted. Family members claimed the body last Monday.

The inmate who was detained on December 2010 for robbery charges had been complaining of family problems, said the warden.

The warden  said that Salidega’s relatives never visited him in jail.

Salidega’s father is an inmate of  the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa  while  his brother is also detained at the Cebu City Jail./Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus