Overcrowded prison system
It has been estimated that at the New Bilibid Prison alone, more than 5,000 inmates perish annually due to various medically related causes.
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It has been estimated that at the New Bilibid Prison alone, more than 5,000 inmates perish annually due to various medically related causes.
Since it is October, I am reminded of our prison system again. Former President Fidel V. Ramos was the one who issued in 1995 the proclamation declaring the last week of October as National Correctional Consciousness Week precisely so that, among other things, we will not forget the plight and unfortunate circumstances of our inmates.
Our Constitution enjoins respect for all people by saying, "The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect of human rights." Our fundamental law makes no distinction between free people and those whose liberty has been restricted. Prisoners and inmates have dignity, which must be respected as well.
The constitutional policy also sets the disposition and inclination for the kind of penal philosophy the country must follow when dealing with prisoners. The incarceration of proven guilty offenders is an expected and intended consequence to deter and discourage wrongdoers and other individuals from committing crimes. However, rehabilitating offenders while in prison is also paramount but often overlooked.
Prisoners bound for release must have undergone rehabilitation as a precondition to be accepted back by society. But some prisoners, especially those who have been inside for many years, fear going out in the open because they know they lack the knowledge and skills of ordinary workers and will only be shunned everywhere. They worry that they have been accustomed to the way of life within the prison to the point of paralysis in the "real world."
On the other hand, prisoners who do not undergo rehabilitation tend to become more vicious and psychologically more disturbed, so they become worse than before. What, then, shall society expect of them when they are released? A progressive journey toward more violence in their lives and the lives of their fellowmen? They often become confirmed public menaces.
Horrible prison living conditions is one more reason why prisoners and inmates sometimes turn out worse than before. It is an understatement to say that our prisons and jails are overcrowded. Jails designed to accommodate 20 prisoners hold over a hundred, so sometimes inmates are forced to sleep almost one atop the other! The proximity to one another can only encourage more contempt toward one another.
Diseases such as pulmonary tuberculosis are also prevalent when prisoners are forced to live in very confined spaces. I have no statistics on how many prisoners died during the Covid-19 pandemic, but they must have been numerous. It has been estimated that at the New Bilibid Prison alone, more than 5,000 inmates perish annually due to various medically related causes.
As of May 2021, the World Prison Brief reported that the population of our jails was about 165,583. According to The New York Times in 2020, the Philippines had the 6th highest prison population among 21 Asian countries. When former President Rodrigo R. Duterte launched his drug war, the incarceration rate further swelled, predictably leading to worse living conditions.
One way to decongest prisons is to release prisoners who have served their terms or are about to. But I have heard that in some cases, this could not happen because the papers of these inmates had been lost to termites, fire, and other causes. And in some cases, it is because the detention facility has no computers to process documents.
It is easy to condemn those who have wronged society. However, are these people irredeemable? Should we let them rot and die inside our sorry prisons? Or should we give them another chance?
The intervention of higher authorities in government is necessary. But for now, we will call their attention through this column to the sorry state of our prison system.
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