The Philippines has one of the most congested jail and prison systems in the world. And with the lockdowns and suspension of legal visits, the Filipino detainees also stay in jail the longest while undergoing trial. Many of the hearings are now done online, which is a great innovation introduced by the Supreme Court, but still many facilities lack structural supports, like computers and internet connections, leading to numerous hearing postponements and resettings.
The jail and prison officials have done a lot of sacrifice to keep the Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) be free from infections of Covid19 . They have stayed in jail and prisons for prolonged period of time (28 days straight) and missed their family time in order to minimize their exposure. They have created protocols on infection, prevention and control of Covid19, trained their personnel to follow the protocols, and implemented these protocols innovatively despite the lack of medical resources, equipment, and personnel. Many jail wardens and prison superintendents have developed strong tie ups with Local Government Units, local hospitals, and Non-Governmental Organizations, in order to address the limited resources. They also innovatively transformed cells as Covid19 quarantine areas and trained PDLs with medical skills as health facilitators.
Yet, two years into the pandemic, all these innovative approaches are getting strained and are drying up. It is no longer sustainable. The lack of visitations had exacerbated the mental health of the PDLs. A week ago, PDLs from a jail in Metro Manila held a jail officer hostage, demanding their release. These led to the death of two PDLs and a jail personnel. In return, the jail bureau instituted more strict measures to prevent a reoccurence of the hostage taking event.
The long term solution is to prioritize the PDLs in the vaccination. Given the overcrowding, they are the most susceptible group of population for a potential Covid19 outbreak. Prioritizing them in vaccination is a sound public health strategy as many of the PDLs are eventually released to the community. Vaccinating PDLs is also consistent with the international standards on the humane treatment of prisoners.
Our jail and prison officers have gallantly sacrificed themselves to keep the deadly outbreak from our facilities. We need to ease their burdens by vaccinating their wards.
(Photos were taken from the BJMP National Capital Region Facebook Page post, dated July 29, 2021)
Opmerkingen