Human Rights Watch calls for release of low-level, non-violent detainees amid COVID-19 crisis

Rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for the release of low-level and non-violent offenders and elderly and sick prisoners to decongest the Philippines' jails amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency.

“Failure to act now could result in a serious outbreak in the country’s jails and prisons, threatening the lives of prisoners whose health the authorities have a duty to protect," Phil Robertson, HRW's deputy Asia director, said in a statement.

New York-headquartered HRW echoed the call of local groups, including rights group Karapatan and an organization of families of political prisoners, who have earlier asked the government to temporarily release minor offenders and older and sickly prisoners on humanitarian grounds.

The international group noted the high congestion rates of Philippine prisons and detention facilities.

"The Philippines faces catastrophic public health problems in its horribly overcrowded prisons and jails in the coming weeks,” Robertson said.

“For humanitarian reasons and to stop COVID-19 from spreading, authorities need to get ahead of this situation by undertaking early releases and making sure the country’s detention facilities are equipped to take on the coronavirus," he added.

The HRW said it recommended that authorities consider reducing jail and prison populations by the supervised or early release of "low-risk detainees, including those in pre-trial detention for non-violent and lesser offenses, those near the end of their sentence, and those whose continued detention is similarly unnecessary or unjustified."

Inmates at high risk of suffering "serious effects of the virus," such as older people and those with underlying health conditions, should also be considered for release, taking into consideration the healthcare capacity of their detention facility, the HRW said.

The HRW said the government should make comprehensive plans to prevent and address a COVID-19 outbreak in their detention facilities "that do not rely on simple lockdowns, but provide measures to protect the physical and mental health of detainees."

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), which runs local jails, said they will support legal measures to decongest jails but stressed the need for a study of "any proposition that is not within the bounce of our existing laws."

BJMP spokesperson Xavier Solda said one of the issues is how to convince the courts that those who will be released "will not endanger the public or at the very least, will not commit any crime during this public health emergency."

He maintained that detainees are "safer" inside jails.

"If they will be out, as some groups are proposing, how can these groups assure the public that those PDL (persons deprived of liberty) who will be released will not contract the virus?" Solda said in a statement.

He said the BJMP has been implementing precautionary measures against the virus. "We are thankful that up to this date, we have no record of PDL with COVID-19," he said. -MDM, GMA News