Rights groups urge disclosure of COVID-19 cases in jails

Human rights group Kapatid urged the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to publicly disclose the number of persons deprived of liberty (PDL) infected with COVID-19.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has instructed BuCor and the Board of Pardons and Parole to expedite the release or grant executive clemency to elderly and sickly PDLs for humanitarian reasons.

As of April 13, 2020, BuCor facilities nationwide had 74 PDLs and 80 personnel who are persons under monitoring (PUM), with two PDLs and one personnel considered persons under investigation (PUI).

Various local and international human rights groups, including Kapatid, Karapatan, PILI, and NUPL, have filed a petition before the Supreme Court to allow the temporary release of vulnerable PDLs.

The National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL) warned that prison congestion and the lack of hygienic and medical facilities make the country's jails a hotbed for COVID-19.

The International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) has joined calls for the temporary release of vulnerable PDLs, urging Philippine authorities and the Supreme Court to act on the petition.

IADL noted that several countries have already released prisoners on humanitarian considerations in response to similar calls from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.