Capitol to set up cameras inside prison

A MONTH after an inmate committed suicide inside his isolation cell, the Capitol said it will install closed circuit TV cameras in various areas of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC).

Capitol security consultant Cesar Veloso said they will prioritize setting up the cameras at the isolation cell to prevent a repeat of the suicide.

But he said there are still “blind spots” inside the CPDRC that need cameras like the visiting area.

Veloso said the security camera at the visiting area could only turn at 180 degrees.

Last month, a 30-year-old inmate identified as Ricky Salidega of Liloan town, northern Cebu, was found hanging by his neck in an isolation cell.

Acting jail warden Algier Commendador said a blanket was tied around the inmate’s neck with the other end tied to the metal railing of the nine-foot-high cell.

The warden denied speculation that Salidega died of hazing by fellow inmates inside the facility.

Salidega was rushed to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center where attending physicians declared him dead.

Commendador said Salidega was placed in an isolation cell after he made fun of some visitors of co-inmates.

Veloso said once the cameras were purchased, some of them will be installed outside the cells of the inmates.

“So we can know who goes in and comes out,” he said.

Requests for aditional CCTV cameras were made after a mauling incident involving former jail warden Alito Gabuya and some jail guards at the CPDRC that led to the death of an inmate.

These recommendations were presented to the governor.

Capitol Consultant Jose Maria Gastardo said the budget for these additional cameras were already approved and he will follow up on the requests for their purchase. Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus