Bilibid inmates allowed to order food online

MANILA, Philippines — Inmates of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City are now allowed to have food delivered to them through online delivery applications.

This can be done through laptops used for e-dalaw, where they can ask their family members to order food for them and coordinate the delivery with jail guards, according to NBP Supt. Angelina Bautista.

“Their families are the ones who order the food and they will message the PDL (person deprived of liberty) through e-dalaw,” Bautista told reporters yesterday.

She said all deliveries are checked by sniffing dogs.

Bautista noted that not only family members can send food, but also organizations that want to help PDLs, considering that the P70-per-day budget for food at the NBP is not enough for three meals.

The e-dalaw is an online visitation program of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), which manages the NBP, as part of the agency’s reformation efforts to give support to PDLs in terms of mental health.

The online visitation program is also in accordance with the Nelson Mandela Rules of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, which states that prisoners should be allowed, “under necessary supervision,” to communicate with their family and friends by corresponding in writing or using telecommunication, electronic, digital and other means where available.

BuCor director general Gregorio Catapang Jr. earlier admitted that there were several instances when contrabands were hidden inside food packages delivered to the national penitentiary.

Catapang, however, said he is not keen on disabling such online delivery applications since it is part of PDLs’ rights to order food.