CHR-6: Include inmates...

campaign of the police and local the director added.

Vaccination among PDLs i s i mportant as they are interacting with guards and other jail officers, Dabuco said.

Meanwhile, G i l b e r t Peremne, assistant director of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Region 6, welcomed CHR’s move. “Of course we are happy ma- include PDLs,” he said. nga man ang aton

The BJMP-6 had 8,045 PDLs mga in its 28 jail facilities and five isolation centers.

As of yesterday, April 15, the BJMP- 6 logged 212 total confirmed coronavirus cases among PDLs. Twenty- f ive were active cases; 184 already

recovered while three died.

‘MULTITUDE OF On Wednesday, the CHR

VULNERABILITIES’ central office pointed out that PDLs were facing a “multitude of vulnerabilities” inside their facilities.

“G i v e n t h e l i mi t e d supply of COVID- 19 shots in the country, fair access to vaccines, including who s hould be f i r s t i n l i ne, requires the government to define priorities based on the level of vulnerability to the virus,” said CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia.

The official said the inmates are experiencing vulnerabilities like “overcrowded prisons, poor

healthcare services and higher rates of preexisting medical conditions” among prison populations, especially the elderly inmates.

Though authorities are trying their best to decongest prison facilities following policies of the Department of Justice and the Supreme Court, de Guia said “t he situation remains critical in these institutions as they still emerge as COVID-19 hotspots.”

The CHR is also calling for the government “to provide updated data on COVID- 19 infections and fatalities in prisons so the situation inside detention facilities can be assessed.”/