Manila jailbirds gripe to Joseph Estrada

Manila mayor, Joseph Estrada

Before he could even take over as Manila mayor, Joseph Estrada may have to meet with “constituents” of a different sort.

Around 3,000 inmates of Manila City Jail staged a noise barrage Thursday afternoon and sought a dialogue with the former president and incoming mayor, as they demanded the removal of their jail warden.

Bearing placards and banging away with wooden sticks, about a hundred of them went up the roof of the jail compound and shouted out their sentiments to reporters.

They protested the shortened visiting hours and the so-called no-plastics policy recently implemented in the congested jail.

The inmates also complained that the warden, Supt. Lyndon Torres, had been too strict to the point of hurting some of them.

Torres confirmed the new regulations but said they were necessary to better prevent the smuggling of contraband.

Speaking to reporters, Torres said he had also received word that someone offered “a bounty” on his head. He did not elaborate.

MANILA jail inmates send a message to the new mayor. EDWIN BELLOSILLO

The noise barrage started around 1:30 p.m. and was initiated by members of the Batang Sputnik gang, he said. Another gang, Batang City Jail, later joined.

The inmates said they wanted their complaints to reach Estrada, hoping he would act on them as soon as he takes over City Hall, first by replacing Torres.

Estrada’s spokesperson, Ike Gutierrez, said the mayor-elect promised to look into the matter.

Estrada briefly experienced life behind bars, when he was ousted from Malacañang in 2001 and later arrested on charges of plunder. The deposed president spent several days in detention at Camp Crame before being placed under house arrest.