By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

A human rights group in Negros has accused a jail warden of “abuse” after a local lawyer was refused entry to the jail in Negros Oriental’s Guihulngan City to meet with several clients detained inside the facility.

Human Rights Advocates Negros (HRAN) said Atty. Rey Gorgonio was reported to have been refused entry into the jail to have private legal consultations with his five clients.

However, Guihulngan District Jail Warden Chief Inspector Ebylino Escaño allegedly told him to secure permission first with the regional director of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Central Visayas.

Following the incident, allegations have also surfaced that the jail facility in Guihulngan does not allow the families of the inmates to visit.

In a statement, HRAN said the allegations are a violation of an inmate’s constitutional rights under the Republic Act (RA) 7438 or an Act Defining Rights of Persons Arrested, Detained, or Under Custodial Investigations.

HRAN said that according to the provisions of the RA, “any person who obstructs, prevents or prohibits any lawyer, any member of the family from visiting or conferring privately with him at any hour of the day or in urgent cases of the night shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment of not less than four years nor more than six years.”

The act also codifies the Miranda Rights doctrine in protection of the arrested, detained and under custodial investigation.

HRAN is currently calling on the BJMP national office to investigate Escaño./DGB, WDJ