Recto slams conditions in jails amid pandemic, calls for release of vulnerable inmates
MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on Wednesday slammed the conditions in Philippine jails, calling them "pandemic timebombs."
"Our congested jails...are petri dishes for the coronavirus. Prisons exist so offenders can pay for their crimes with their liberty, but not with their lives," Recto said.
Data from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) from October 2019 registered a 450% congestion rate in its jails. The bureau said this indicated that six prisoners occupied the space of four square meters, which was only meant for one detainee.
Meanwhile, the BuCor in May logged a 316% congestion rate.
"Imagine this: the average prisoner cell space in the Philippines is 0.87 square meter, not even hald a folding bed," Recto emphasized in a mix of English and Filipino.
The Commission on Human Rights in June decried these same conditions in Philippine jails and detention centers in the country, calling them "cruel, degrading, inhuman treatment or punishment."
"The aim of restorative justice is to change them, and not to cause their cremation. Our jails are full of people charged with petty crimes, like small-scale estafa or possession of a stick of marijuana. Although there is no verdict yet, they, however, are in real danger of being sentenced to death by COVID," Recto said.
In light of this, the senator advocated for releasing "the old, the senile, and the sick" who have reached minimum jail time if convicted.
He cited a 2014 Supreme Court circular that "spells out the guidelines on the provisional release of inmates whose cases are not moving in courts," calling for an "expansion of this order, to cover other qualified detainees, on humanitarian grounds, balanced with public safety."
Senate eyes probe into Bilibid deaths
Meanwhile, several of Recto's colleagues at the Senate are eyeing a probe into the deaths of nine high profile inmates at New Bilibid Prison.
Most recently, Sen. Risa Hontiveros filed a resolution caling for an investigation into the alleged coronavirus-induced fatalities at the state penitentiary.
"It is baffling how COVID-19 was able to wipe out several drug lords with one blow," she said.
Hontiveros further cited that previous allegations of corruption within the BuCor have caused further scrutiny over these deaths and the "seemingly secretive and immediate disposal of remains."
"The lack of reliable information on the deaths of the inmates, the track record of some officials within the BuCor, and the improbability of the fatality rate, creates enough doubt in the mind of a reasonable person on the truthfulness of these deaths," she said.
Senate President Tito Sotto on Monday also filed a resolution seeking an inquiry into the deaths of 21 inmates due to the coronavirus and 24 others suspected to be COVID-19 cases amid rumors of body-switching and failure of NBP officials to follow protocols in cremating bodies.
Senators Ping Lacson and Ronald dela Rosa, meanwhile, have said that they see no reason for the legislative body to launch its own probe.
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