SELDA calls for congressional probe on inhuman jail conditions

By SELDA
June 25, 2014

QUEZON CITY – Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) called on lawmakers to investigate the inhuman prison conditions which most inmates, political prisoners and common criminals alike, are subjected to.

Amidst the VIP treatment of detained senators Revilla and Estrada who face plunder charges, SELDA challenged the BS Aquino government to comply with the Minimum Standards of Treatment of Prisoners. SELDA is outraged with the double standard the BS Aquino government giving to plunderers while common criminals and political prisoners are suffering from inhuman conditions.

“We hear Sen. Revilla complaining about his hot detention cell, with rats and cockroaches. But actually, regular detention cells are far worse than his,” Roneo Clamor, SELDA national coordinator said. “A 3x5-meter cell meant for two inmates is cramped with six to 10 detainees in regular jails. Even the lavatories are used as sleeping quarters,” Clamor described. “Prisoners usually have limited supply of water, suffer from poor ventilation, and receive no proper medical attention,” Clamor continued.

Clamor cited the condition of Benny Barid, a political prisoner who has been in and out of the New Bilibid Prisons hospital because of his illnesses. “He is all skinny, as in buto’t balat (skin and bones), because of his chronic asthma. His skin is full of allergies. Instead of releasing him on humanitarian grounds, he remains in the NBP hospital without proper medical attention. He becomes susceptible to more infectious diseases inside the hospital and in their cramped cells,” said Clamor.

“Despite the many exposé and complaints on the conditions of jails in the country the BS Aquino government has not done anything to improve the situation. But it has ensured the comfort of plunderers like Janet Lim-Napoles and senators Revilla and Estrada in their own rooms while supposedly in prison,” Clamor said.

In a message dated June 8, Eduardo Sarmiento, detained peace consultant for the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), shared the plight of the 489 political prisoners detained in different detention centers in the country. “Political prisoners, like common criminals, suffer arbitrary and discriminatory regulations such as curtailment of visiting rights… harassed by corrupt prison guards, who punish them and put them in isolation for no reason,” said Sarmiento.

“Worst, the political prisoners are made to face several trumped up criminal charges for practicing their political beliefs which is a right of every person,” Clamor added.