TACLOBAN CITY – Newly-appointed city jail warden Edwin Riel is determined he could partly solve the congestion problem inside the city jail as he assumed office here recently.

Riel told Leyte Samar Daily Express that the 100 plus capacity of the city jail is now overcrowded with around 750 inmates confined inside.

“This is our primary problem, congestion. My focus now is to reduce the said overcrowded by about 200 inmates to make the figure temporarily descend to around\d 500,’ he said.

He admitted that though this concern, which is already a perennial problem in our jails, is a great challenge for him to solve considering the minimal, budget of the government the development of facilities.

But facing this fact, Riel said he will be using his paralegal officers to cater on the legal needs of the prisoners.

He said he will try to coordinate with the Provincial Attorneys Office (PAO) and the Parole and Probation Office in order to release those who are already subject for release and provide community based correction for those whose offense is not that serious.

The courts will also be asked to make speedy trials for those long-time inmates so that their cases will be given due solution.

According to him, this one way of addressing the congestion problem inside the jail which sometimes causes some ailments to the prisoners.

Riel said it’s natural for a developing city like Tacloban to have crowded jails, but he lamented that the facilities inside the city jail should be renovated and developed so as to address the problem of overcrowding of inmates.

However, Riel pointed out that this goal cannot be attained without the help of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, local officials and other agencies concerned.

In fact, Riel said he is not only planning to address the congestion, also he wants to provide the inmates with rehabilitation and livelihood programs.

Riel served as the replacement of S/Insp. Angelo Marcos, Jr. who is now the warden assigned at Ormoc City jail, Riel’s former post .