EDITORIAL - First step

At least this one didn’t hang on to his post. Ernesto Diokno resigned yesterday as director of the Bureau of Corrections as the Department of Justice found him administratively liable for VIP treatment enjoyed by convicted murderer Jose Antonio Leviste. Criminal and administrative charges will be pursued against Leviste’s direct custodian, Fortunato Justo.

Leviste was caught staying in the LPL condominium building that he owns in the heart of Makati last May 18. Sentenced to six to 12 years for killing his aide, Leviste entered the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa on Jan. 26, 2009, and was approved for classification as a minimum security prisoner because of his age on July 2 last year by the Bucor director at the time, Oscar Calderon. On Aug. 3, Leviste was allowed living-out or sleep-out privilege within the NBP reservation.

How many other inmates abuse this privilege? Relatives of road rage victim Eldon Maguan have said his convicted killer, Rolito Go, has also been spotted enjoying similar privileges outside the NBP reservation. Do poor inmates also abuse living-out privileges? Prison guards are supposed to keep such inmates under close supervision, and sentries within the NBP need not be reminded that all vehicles going in and out of the reservation must be thoroughly inspected. In local jails under the Department of the Interior and Local Government, members of the Ampatuan clan are also reportedly being accorded VIP treatment.

Amid the latest scandals, President Aquino has called for reforms in the prison system. This should not be a knee-jerk, flash-in-the pan commitment. The problems besetting the country’s national prisons and local jails have been around for a long time. Local jails in particular are so congested that incarceration in these facilities is punishment enough for the guilty, and a human rights violation for the innocent.

The inmate population has boomed along with the national population, with no corresponding expansion in detention facilities and minimal increase in funding. The ratio of prison guards to inmates has worsened over the years. And while there is no excuse for corruption, the poor pay of prison personnel makes them vulnerable to bribes, especially by moneyed inmates.

The objective of modern penal systems, apart from imposing punishment, is to rehabilitate prisoners. But Philippine prison facilities were built chiefly for punishment. The country does not have facilities for white-collar crimes, and there are no provisions for serving minor sentences outside prisons. The system needs a thorough overhaul. Diokno’s resignation should serve as the first step in the process.