DOJ women hold medical mission at NBP

Responding to the need to improve the health of inmates at the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP), lady officials and wives of officials of Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday conducted a medical mission at the national penitentiary.

Dr. Pacita Gonzalez, wife of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, led members of DOJ Ladies Circle in giving free medical and dental check-ups to inmates. They also distributed medicine at the maximum security compound of the NBP.

"It is the goal of our organization to uplift the lives of people under the DOJ, including the inmates who, we believe, deserve this kind of charity because they are being ignored, especially their health conditions," Gonzalez told The STAR in an interview.

Established more than 20 years ago, the charitable arm of the DOJ has at least 50 members and has been conducting annual gift-giving and livelihood assistance programs at the NBP and the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City.

Gonzalez, who also heads the all-women charity group, said they were able to collect enough supply of medicine for the medical mission through the help of various government and private firms and their own fund-raising campaign, including a recent concert series featuring top singers Martin Nievera and Gary Valenciano.

Among the sponsors of the mission were the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and United Laboratories Inc., she added.

Gonzalez disclosed that they would extend the activity to the colonies of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) in Davao and Palawan and plans to return to the NBP, this time to provide a new ambulance for its hospital.

BuCor Director Retired Gen. Vicente Vinarao has reported the poor health and medical conditions at the national penitentiary.

Vinarao told The STAR that each of the 18,000 inmates at NBP is given only P1 a day for medical allowance. Only 13 doctors are attending to inmates at the prison hospital, or a ratio of one doctor per 33 jail patients.

Acting NBP Hospital Chief Dr. Melinda Alipe admitted that they have medical equipment but they are not enough to perform major operations on patients. "Patients who need major operations have to be transferred to the nearest government hospital using the bureau’s service vehicle," she said.

Alipe said most of their patients suffer from tuberculosis and urinary tract infection. "We really need a lot of help. Sometimes, we even shell out our own money to help buy medicine that our patients need," she added.

Apart from the medical and dental mission, lawyer members of the DOJ Ladies Circle, led by Chief Public Attorney Perside Rueda-Acosta and CIW Superintendent lawyer Rachel Ruelo, also gave free legal consultation to NBP inmates.

Members of the organization said they would encourage other government agencies and private firms to conduct similar activities at the NBP.