Inmates Bury their Own

This news story is about inmates dying in the New Bilibid Prison whose bodies had been left unclaimed by relatives. Most of the bodies had been decomposing in a funeral parlor which led the BuCor to bury them in the penitentiary's cemetery.

Aside from this story line, however, this picture depicts a very unique set up in prison management. In this picture, inmates can be seen carrying the caskets, and burying the dead inmates into their graves. It is the inmates who are doing the heavy lifting, so to speak, of a very important duty supposedly done by prison medical officers. In other countries, this set up would be unthinkable. Prison medical officers are incharged of the health and upkeep of inmates. They are incharged of identifying inmates who are sick, isolate them so as not to infect other inmates, provide care for their recovery, and if the inmates succumb, take care of the dead bodies. Professional medical prison officers inform relatives of the demise of their loved ones, assist in embalming and other cadaver maintenance, and assist in the wake and burial to respectfully honor the dead. In the Philippines, due to lack of medical personnel and resources, it is the inmates who bury their own dead. Inmates leaders are also tasked to provide medicines for their sick cellmates. Inmates with medical backgrounds are also recruited to become "inmate medical coordinators" so they can assist in the identification and recovery of sick inmates. It is this set up that is seldom discussed in the Philippine prisons. What are usually reported are the anomalies and the "bizarre practices." No one discusses the root causes of these unique prison practices. Photo credits: Philippine Daily Inquirer