In the year 2016, a documentary was released with the title “Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons” aired on Netflix. The documentary featured two facilities from the Philippines: Rizal Provincial Jail and a facility in the southern part of the country. On the channel Free Documentaries on YouTube, the video Behind Bars: South Cotabato Jail was uploaded 10th of February 2021. While these videos are taken five years apart, the state of jails in the country has barely changed.
The correctional facilities are still overpopulated. It may seem like an easy problem to fix but it has been a prevailing dilemma in the Philippine correctional facilities. Due to the slow delivery on the part of the judicial system, most detainees are forced to stay in penitentiaries for months, and in most cases, years on end whilst they wait for the verdict of the court. This brings about many problems for offenders, not only affecting their physical health but also their mental and emotional states.
One of the primary contributors to inadequate jail conditions all over the world is excessive population growth in prisons. The adverse effects of this issue, which is perhaps one of the greatest obstacles plaguing prison systems, can, at worst, be fatal, and, at best, prohibit jails from serving their intended purpose.
During the HLAF, Inc. visit to the Navotas City Jail, they were given the opportunity to speak with the prison warden, Mr. Lucky Dionisio. Some concerns were raised about the probation applications and the cases of PDLs that have been piling up. While there is a significant decrease in the number of PDLs brought in and an increase in those who had been released, the jail is still considered overpopulated.
In an article written by Catherine Heard (2019), “overcrowded prison conditions lead to increased prevalence of communicable and chronic diseases, mental illness, substance misuse, violence, self-harm, and suicide. The risks affect prisoners, staff, the families of prisoners and staff, and wider communities.” The prevalence of aggression, self-harming behaviors, and acts of suicide may be made worse or exacerbated by an overabundance of inmates, as well as by the accompanying problems such as a lack of privacy.
Criminal justice regulations, not rising crime rates, have been responsible for overcrowding, which makes it more difficult for prison systems to provide basic needs like accommodation, nourishment, and medical treatment. In addition, it undermines the availability and successful nature of rehabilitation programs, lessons, and vocational training. Critical factors influencing the prison population rates include the overuse of pretrial detention and the use of a penal institution for insignificant, petty offenses.
Albeit a seemingly despairing quandary, it has been shown that efforts for jail decongestion have not been in vain. In the latest reports of the BJMP decongestion efforts, the yearly audit reports made public by the Commission on Audit, the occupancy rate of Philippine jails was 438% in 2019 and decreased to 403% in 2020. However, even with this astonishing drop in the percentage of the jail populace, correctional facilities are very much still overcrowded and are in need of action from the government.
The Philippine jails have a total average of 370% congestion rate in 2022, according to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology. The ideal persons behind bars capacity in jails should only be 32,760, while the total count right now is 124,764.
This is a call for help to the Philippine government and to those who truly wish to see a change in PDLs and in society. For a successful rehabilitation, the environment in which they are to develop must be in optimal condition. It is difficult to think and learn in chaotic conditions. However, even with better facilities for inmates, the true solution is in solving social dilemmas such as lack of employment opportunities, social welfare support, and poverty, which drives people to a life of crime.
By: JM Pepito
References:
CHR. (2022, July 9). Statement of CHR Executive Director, Atty Jacqueline Ann de Guia, on the decongestion efforts of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology. Chr.gov.ph. https://chr.gov.ph/statement-of-chr-executive-director-atty-jacqueline-ann-de-guia-on-the-decongestion-efforts-of-the-bureau-of-jail-management-and-penology/
Heard, C. (2019, June 17). Prison overcrowding and the risks for public health: a global time-bomb? Fair Trials. https://www.fairtrials.org/articles/news/prison-overcrowding-and-risks-public-health-global-time-bomb/#:~:text=Overcrowded%20prison%20conditions%20lead%20to
PenalReform. (n.d.). Prison overcrowding. Penal Reform International. https://www.penalreform.org/issues/prison-conditions/key-facts/overcrowding/#:~:text=Overcrowding%2C%20as%20well%20as%20related
