‘Don’t escape,’ Teno tells inmates

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday appealed to inmates at the Division of Corrections against escape plots in protest of what they claimed as deplorable prison conditions, saying the government is “doing everything” to deal with the problems, including jail management.

He also pledged to review the petition signed by 20 prisoners seeking the ouster of DOC Director Greg T. Castro and Capt. Johannes Ngiraibuuch in an attempt to keep the situation in the Susupe corrections at bay.

“Please don’t do that,” Tenorio said, referring to the threats by the inmates to stage jailbreaks should he fail to sack these officials whom they accused of incompetence in the letter — the second in two days — sent to the Office of the Governor on Wednesday.

“We are doing everything possible to (resolve) those complaints they have. We are addressing those issues,” added the governor.

Although he said he would meet with his staff to look into the concerns, Tenorio was uncertain whether these two officials would be investigated or that they would face administrative sanctions.

“Everytime something happens, they blame everybody and they want us to remove or fire (officials) because they are not satisfied,” he explained. “We have to take a serious look into that and see whether the directors and the staff are not doing their job.”

According to the local chief executive, “there must be a reason for this demand by the prisoners, but that if (DOC officials) are doing what they are supposed to do, I don’t see any reason why those individuals should be fired.”

The petition, which came a day after three recent escapees complained of poor prison conditions, accused Castro and Ngiraibuuch of sowing discontent and threatening peace inside the facility.

They alleged the two are not qualified to handle the responsibility that comes with their positions.

Three inmates — Melvin N. Basa, Jeronimo S. Ada and Shawn Appleby who were involved in the Oct. 10 jailbreak — wrote to the governor on Monday complaining about the inhuman conditions in the corrections which they claimed violated their constitutional rights.

While admitting worsening conditions in the prison, Tenorio has underscored efforts by the government to build new facilities as soon as possible to ease overcrowding and address other problems at DOC.

The prison task force formed last year by the governor and headed by Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider has mapped out a comprehensive prison plan that will improve conditions and upgrade existing structures as part of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.