Kapatid accuses BuCor of ‘negligence’ in informing relatives of prisoners' deaths

A group of families of political prisoners has accused the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) of "negligence" in informing relatives of prisoners of the condition of their loved ones who had tested positive or died of COVID-19.

Citing report from a television network, Kapatid said the bureau failed to immediately inform the families of prisoners who tested positive for the infectious disease and those who died from it.

“The prison officials’ negligence in informing relatives is alarming. During this time of endless fears and anxieties of prisoners’ families, denying them their right to information about the actual condition of their kin is truly outrageous, callous and irresponsible,” Kapatid spokesperson Fides Lim said Thursday.

Lim said this violates the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, which provides that authorities should "at once" inform the spouse, nearest relative, or the prisoner's previously designated person upon the prisoner's death, serious illness, serious injury, or removal to an institution for the treatment of "mental affections."

Lim added that the "humanitarian crisis" in congested Philippine prisons will "never be addressed" if authorities will not be transparent in reporting cases of and deaths due to COVID-19.

The BuCor claimed earlier this week that it notifies the families of deceased prisoners once the death certificate is available but admitted problems in contacting some relatives.

An update from the Department of Justice last week showed that 222 inmates have tested positive

Among BuCor personnel, 59 were confirmed to have been infected and four have recovered, according to Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete.

Most cases were recorded at the New Bilibid Prison, the BuCor's largest facility, logging 140 cases among PDLs and 30 among personnel. The Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) was the only other facility to report cases: 82 among inmates and 18 among staff, as of last week.

The BuCor's five other penal farms and colonies have not reported any COVID-19 case.

On the other hand, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, which has custody of pre-trial detainees, has reported 745 COVID-19 cases among detainees and 125 among personnel.

Fearing that a COVID-19 outbreak in detention facilities will be deadly, several groups have called for the release of detainees of old age, with underlying medical conditions, or are "low-risk" amid the pandemic.

More than 20 detainees have filed a petition for their release on humanitarian grounds before the Supreme Court, but deliberations on the case have been delayed as the justice in charge of the petition is stranded in the Visayas, according to Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta.

Peralta said he believes the court will be able to resolve the case by Tuesday next week. —LDF, GMA News