AUTHORITIES should seriously consider the call to “release the sick, elderly and ‘low-level’ prisoners” from Philippine jails.
The nongovernment organization Kapatid, composed of relatives and friends seeking the release and protection of the rights and welfare of political prisoners, urged in a March 20 post on their Facebook page that the government grants “a medical furlough as temporary relief for ‘first time, low risk, non-violent and bailable offenders’.”
Citing the proposal of prison reform advocate professor Raymund Narag to avert a “possible catastrophe” if Covid-19 infects a person deprived of liberty (PDL), the Kapatid and the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), which is a “fellowship of 10 Protestant and non-Roman Catholic Churches in the Philippines denominations and 10 service-oriented organizations,” point out the vulnerability of the elderly and the sick PDLs under prevailing jail conditions where social distancing is an impossibility and restricted resources make jail staff ill-equipped to handle Covid-19.
The country’s jails are overcrowded by “310 percent,” with 49,114 PDLs crammed into facilities intended for a maximum of 11,981 persons, pointed out the NCCP, citing January data from the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).
According to BuCor data mentioned in a March 21 article posted on Bulatlat.com, “20 percent of the inmates die every year mostly due to overcrowding.”
In a March 11 press conference, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) declared that it was not considering the release of detainees due to the Covid-19 threat. Instead, a “national prison lockdown” was ordered by the BJMP Central Office to prevent the spread of Covid-19 among those in prison, reported SunStar Cebu on March 21.
NCCP general secretary Bishop Reuel Norman Marigza questioned the BJMP’s declaration that inmates remain free of Covid-19 since tests have not been administered.
Rather than wait for a PDL to exhibit symptoms before linking with epidemiologic and infectious disease units, which are severely taxed handling cases in the communities, jail authorities should take pro-active measures to initiate correction action, as recommended in the Narag proposal.
Narag pointed out that lacking resources, some PDLs are unable to post bail and remain in detention, awaiting prolonged trials. He suggests prioritizing those “charged with offenses such as gambling, theft of less than a thousand pesos... especially those who are old (above 60 years old) and sickly.”
The Supreme Court (SC) identified that 71 percent of inmates are “victims of false convictions,” with “more than 500” considered as political prisoners, imprisoned for opposing or criticizing government, reported the Bulatlat.com.
Based on a BJMP assessment of jail health capacities, the SC can issue a circular directing jail wardens to identity “first-time, low rise, non-violent, bailable offenders for release,” recommends Narag.
On behalf of all PDLs, the Public Attorney’s Office makes a national pleading. Using sound discretion, the “judges release the PDLs on their own self-recognizance or even on a ‘One-Peso Bail,” extracting from every PDL a promise to appear on court-appointed dates.
Even under “absolute lockdown,” jails cannot be totally impervious to the threat of Covid-19. The “E-Dalaw,” which replaces physical visits with monitored phone or video calls between the PDLs and their relatives, only responds to the need for communication.
Families, who know from frequent jail visits how cough, colds, skin ailments and other diseases do not spare inmates in overcrowded cells, may be more capable than the state to care for these vulnerable PDLs, whose advanced age and medical conditions require special diets, maintenance medicine, nursing care and other needs.