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OSG asks SC to junk temporary release petition of vulnerable, at-risk prisoners

April 25, 2020 | 5:05pm

OSG asks SC to junk temporary release petition of vulnerable, at-risk prisoners

In this photo taken on March 27, 2020, prison inmates lie to sleep at the crowded courtyard of the Quezon City jail in Manila

AFP / Maria Tan

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Solicitor General has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the petition of 22 political prisoners, consisting mainly of elderly and sick detainees from different jails, who previously sought an order from the high court for their temporary release during the COVID-19 health crisis.

Local and international groups, including the World Health Organization, have recommended the decongestion of prisons and detention facilities during the coronavirus pandemic since they are particularly vulnerable to outbreaks due to the obstacle of implementing social distance.

URGENT: UN Human Rights Chief @mbachelet urges Governments to act now to prevent #COVID19 devastating the health of people in detention and other closed facilities, as part of global efforts to contain the pandemic.

Learn more ???? https://t.co/rnNyBisoDM #StandUp4HumanRights pic.twitter.com/xZZyqeVKwn
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) March 25, 2020

The government’s top lawyer acknowledged the congestion in local detention facilities but said the situation does not constitute a valid ground for the petitioners’ release.

“While it is true that some of the detention and reformatory facilities in the country are highly congested, unfortunately, congestion in prison facilities is not among the grounds to release inmates. The issue of the inadequacy of the Philippine Prison System to meet the very high standard of international rules does not warrant the release of the prisoners,” read the OSG’s 47-page comment.

On the contrary, it claimed that the persons deprived of liberty are safer in jails than elsewhere, enumerating efforts of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the Bureau of Corrections “to ensure the safety, health, and well-being of all PDLs under their custody in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Last month, the Bureau of Corrections suspended visitation privileges in all its prison facilities across the country. As of January 2020, there were 49,114 inmates in BuCor-manned prisons.

BJMP also suspended jail visits a day later. Around 134,549 PDLs are detained in 476 jails nationwide as of September 2019.

“The petitioners have not advanced any reason why their plea for humanitarian consideration is the better option. The petitioners have not alleged that there exists better medical care for the thousands of detainees outside of their detention facilities when the healthcare system is bursting at its seams and hospitals have run out of beds,” read the comment.

“Plainly, the petitioners' continued detention affords them ready access to government resources if and when the dreaded virus reaches the doors of there cells, no less different outside their cells.”

Detention facilities in the country that have reported at least one confirmed COVID-19 case include the New Bilibid Prison, Quezon City Jail, Cebu City Jail and the Correctional Institution for Women.

The OSG also accused the petitioners of “opportunistic legalism” and membership or affiliation to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

“Without a doubt, this petition is a ruse to remove them from the confines of judicially-approved penal custody. Contrary to their claim, there are no humanitarian considerations involve, but merely opportunistic legalism to distort established judicial processes.”

Earlier this week, the bureau said 42 inmates and nine medical staff were traced to have had contact with the first confirmed case and were subjected to a COVID-19 test.

On Friday, a male inmate from the New Bilibid Prison died due to COVID-19 infection, the Bureau of Corrections reported. — With reports from Gaea Katreena Cabico and Kristine Joy Patag