MANILA – Improve ventilation and increase space to prevent the spread of disease in correctional facilities, Sen. Richard Gordon urged the government.
The country’s penal system is the third most congested in the world, Gordon said, citing a study of the University of London’s Institute for Criminal Policy Research.
“The Human Rights Watch has also criticized our jails as straight out of Dante’s ‘Purgatory.’ Unfortunately, this is quite true,” said the chairman of the Senate committee on justice and human rights.
The Philippine Red Cross also found out that detention facilities across the country are massively overcrowded and lack sanitary facilities, said Gordon, also the organization’s chairman and CEO.
“There is a relentless and constant battle for space, water [and] food in an unhygienic facility, which can be seen in almost all the jails in the country,” he added.
An average of six inmates occupy 4.7 square meters of space, which is intended for just one inmate, according to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
Inmates take turns sleeping on the basketball court, chapel, walkways, or staircases, and squat against corners as they sleep, said the BJMP.
Due to poor ventilation and lack of water, inmates easily contract airborne diseases like tuberculosis, and suffer from rashes and boils, Gordon lamented.
“The unbearable living condition inside the jails is made even worse for the inmates by the prospect that it could be years before their cases are decided [on], and many of them are not eligible for bail or they cannot afford to pay the bond,” he said./PN
