Returned firearms donated to Cebu prison personnel

SEVEN of 12 guns returned by a staffer of former governor Gwendolyn Garcia were issued to jail guards of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) last Monday.

Provincial General Services Office (PGSO) chief Eva Encabo said CPDRC warden Romeo Manansala requested for additional firearms to replace the aging firearms of the jail guards.

She said Manansala’s request was approved by Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III.

The seven .9mm Glock pistols returned by staffer Edwin Mixdon cost the province P160,000 and were intended for security personnel assigned in the provincial government.

Encabo said Mixdon still hasn’t turned over the remaining nine of the 21 guns issued to him during Garcia’s administration.

She said Mixdon told her that the police personnel who used the firearms were transferred to other provinces.

The PGSO found out about the missing items in its inventory of the province’s properties during the transition phase in Davide’s assumption to office.

Encabo said they also received a request from CPDRC asking the province for additional vehicles to transport their inmates who have scheduled trials in court.

She said a vehicle similar to the Suroy Suroy Sugbo buses will cost the province P700,000.

CPDRC jail guards received flak from Facebook users after a concerned citizen posted a photo online showing inmates seated at the back of an open multicab on their way to a court hearing in Mandaue City.

Manansala said they were forced to transport the inmates in the multicab due to lack of vehicles in the jail facility. Correspondent Peter L. Romanillos