Supreme Court stops transfer of convicts to BuCor facilities

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday stopped trial courts from ordering the transfer of convicted persons to jail facilities run by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to curb the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19.

Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez issued the directive in response to the request of BuCor chief Gerald Bantag.

The SC order will be enforced until Aug. 31.

On July 22, Bantag asked the high court to suspend the transfer of convicted persons from the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to BuCor facilities to prevent infections among inmates.

“The issuance by the courts of commitment orders from the BJMP units to the BuCor is hereby suspended until Aug. 31,” the SC circular read.

Bantag had reported that 21 inmates, including drug convict Amin Imam Boratong and Jaybee Sebastian have died of complications due to COVID-19. The deaths are being probed by the Department of Justice.