Lawmakers have asked the Supreme Court to compel the government to release the prisoners who are vulnerable to possible infection from the coronavirus disease that has killed more than 300 people and infected close to 5,000.
In an April 13, 2020 letter to Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate and other lawmakers belonging to the so-called Makabayan bloc cited the urgent need for the high court to compel the concerned government agencies to release the inmates who are vulnerable to COVID-19.
Zarate was joined by Bayan Muna Rep. Eufemia Cullamat, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro, Arlene Brosas of the Gabriela Women's party-list and Sarah Elago of Kabataan party-list.
They say they supported the petition filed early this month by a group of political prisoners asking the high court for their release on humanitarian grounds, saying the jail facilities in which they are being held make them more at risk of COVID-19.
The lawmakers say the country's congested prison and detention facilities are conducive to the spread of infectious diseases—especially COVID-19.
"The world is now in an extra perilous time as COVID 19 is spreading like wildfire worldwide and has infected over a million people. It has killed thousands, overwhelmed the health system, brought economies to a standstill, and is endangering the health and lives of millions of people,” the lawmakers say in the letter.
"In this extraordinary time, we appeal to this Honorable Court to exercise its extraordinary powers and order the release, en masse, of vulnerable persons deprived of liberty in the different jail and detention facilities all over the country. The release of these PDLs, as well as other forms of relief that this Honorable Court may grant, are prayed for in the name of our shared humanity.”
The lawmakers say India, Canada, Turkey, Australia, Iran, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Egypt, Ireland, Wales, Morocco, Sudan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Germany, Indonesia, and the United States have already responded to the mass release of inmates.
The House Committee on Justice earlier recommended to the Peace and Order Cluster of the Defeat COVID19 Committee the temporary release of inmates to decongest the prisons that lack healthcare facilities and personnel.
Last year, the Bureau of Corrections, which operates the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa city and six other penal colonies in the country, said its facilities have a congestion rate of 302 percent, while those operated by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology have a staggering congestion rate of 427 percent.