De Lima seeks remedy against jail congestion

MABALACAT CITY — Senator Leila M. de Lima has called on the Senate to look into the extreme problem of congestion as well as the subhuman conditions of the country’s jails and penitentiaries that encouraged the proliferation of illegal activities among the inmates.

In a press statement sent to Sun.Star Pampanga, De Lima said she hopes that the Senate Justice and Human Rights Committee would give the matter its utmost attention and priority as inmates continue to cramp up the already-populated jails under “unspeakable, uncivilized and inhumane condition.”

“This extreme overcrowding of prisoners in jails breeds a number of severe problems in jail management, including illness and poor hygiene among inmates, substandard sleeping accommodation, lack of food provision, among others,” she said.

“There is likewise a steady source of tension and hostility among prisoners who are cramped into congested cell areas. Most gang wars erupt despite the presence of jail guards who often lack professional trainings,” she added.

Last January 10, De Lima sent Senate Justice Committee Chairman Senator Richard J. Gordon a letter requesting him to give priority attention to P.S. Res. No. 97 seeking an inquiry in aid of legislation into the current state of jails and penitentiaries all over the country.

Attached to the letter is a series of photographs published by the respectable Time Magazine which captured the congestion problem prevailing in the country’s jails and prisons.