Newsbriefs

Cebu jail still won’t accept inmates

THE Capitol will continue to refuse accepting inmates in the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), but it will study the transfer of prisoners on a case-to-case basis.

Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III approved the request of Provincial Warden Romeo Manansala to stop accepting detainees for now due to the congestion in the jail facility.

“As much as possible we want to accommodate but it cannot be helped. The congestion might cause some trouble between the inmates,” Davide told reporters.

Then acting Gov. Agnes Magpale already issued a memorandum that put on hold the transfer of inmates to CPDRC effective last May 27.

Magpale also considered the possibility of funding part of the jail management expenses of towns and cities in the province to avoid congesting the CPDRC.

Based on numbers provided by Manansala, the facility in barangay Kalunasan houses 1,643 inmates or more than 200 its maximum capacity of 1,400 inmates.

Manansala said the facility lacks beds to house incoming detainees.

“Good thing there were 26 inmates who were sent to the jail facility in Muntinlupa just recently,” he said.

The CPDRC has more than 100 cells with 12 to 16 inmates per cell and closed circuit TV cameras in each floor.

It was opened in 2004 during the term of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, who turned the old coral stone jail at M.J. Cuenco Avenue in Cebu City into a museum, the Museo Sugbo. Correspondent Peter L. Romanillos

Furniture of Talisay City Administrator’s office given to school

TALISAY City Administrator Johnny Yre delos Reyes ordered the City Legal Office to study legal action against people who donated his office furniture to the city’s college.

Delos Reyes said the office equipment issued to the city administrator’s office were donated to the Talisay City State College (TCSC). His predecessor, Richie Bacaltos, teaches there.

If there are grounds for legal action, the younger delos Reyes said he will file charges against those responsible for donating the items before the Ombudsman-Visayas.

Delos Reyes said he will also call on the General Services Office (GSO) to check on the facilities issued to the city administrator’s office.

Bacaltos was supposedly a campaign manager of the ruling Alayon party. Correspondent Gabriel C. Bonjoc

PhilHealth aid program for Cebu City indigents

Over 37,000 indigents in Cebu City can avail of the “Z Benefit” program of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. in Central Visayas (Philhealth-7).

The program which covers illnesses that require extended hospital confinement and expensive treatments can be availed of at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC).

Karisma Agraviador, PhilHealth-7 public affairs officer, said the hospital can perform breast cancer, kidney transplant, cervical cancer and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery under the “Z” benefits program.

Indigent Philhealth beneficiaries who are diagnosed with any of these four cases would have to visit VSMMC which will evaluate their eligibility and recommend them to the Philhealth for pre-authorization.

For sponsored members which include Cebu City’s 37,000 indigents, they won’t have to pay a single centavo, Agraviador said. Correspondent Jose Santino S. Bunachita

Minimal dental, medical fees in Mandaue City Hospital

AN ordinance which charges minimal fees in dental and family planning services offered at the Mandaue City Hospital was approved by the Mandaue City Council recently.

“These minimal fees subsidize the cost of materials and maintenance of the hospital operations especially on these new medical services,” City Councilor Nenita Ceniza-Layese said.

The ordinance prescribing fees for dental and family planning services rendered took effect weeks after the outgoing council approved it.

The fees were based on the pricing system suggested by the Local Health Board last May 20. Ceniza-Layese said the fees can sustain the services offered in the hospital. Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos