Prisoner rights group urges Supreme Court to promulgate writ of kalayaan

Prisoner rights advocates on Thursday appealed to the Supreme Court (SC) to promulgate the writ of kalayaan, a remedy proposed by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen to address jail congestion in the Philippines.

KAPATID through its spokesperson Fides Lim asked Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta to secure the promulgation of the writ before his early retirement in March 2021.

Lim, the wife of the jailed National Democratic Front consultant Vicente Ladlad, said the writ of kalayaan "gives us hope that not all is lost especially for those of us with elderly and very sick kin saddled with numerous manufactured cases that may outlast them beyond the grave."

"We only seek justice and we appeal to your sense of compassion and sensitivity to urgently address the subhuman conditions in Philippine jails that have become a systemic problem," Lim said in a letter to the chief justice.

The writ of kalayaan was a suggestion made by Leonen in his separate opinion on the SC case where detainees, including Ladlad, sought to be released on the ground their old age or medical conditions make them at-risk of contracting COVID-19 in jail.

The SC referred the petition, which it treated as an application for bail, to the trial courts where the detainees' cases are pending.

In his separate opinion, Leonen suggested that a new writ called the writ of kalayaan be issued "when all the requirements to establish cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment are present."

He said the writ of kalayaan "should provide an order of precedence in order to bring the occupation of jails to a more humane level."

"Certainly, the writ of kalayaan will be the distinguishing initiative of the Peralta Court — a measure that is grounded on social justice," Leonen said.

Peralta said the court will study Leonen's proposal once he makes a formal suggestion.

"It is never too late for the Court to exercise compassionate intervention in order to save human life. Please start the process now. Please do not deny us the opportunity which was forever lost to Reina Mae Nasino when her baby daughter passed away," Lim wrote.

She was referring to the 23-year-old detainee whose three-month-old daughter, separated from her just weeks after birth, died of illness in October, triggering discussions on jail policies for detainees who are mothers.

"Life is fleeting. We hope and pray that you will heed our appeal because if the Court of Last Resort denies us this avenue, where else do we turn to?" Lim said.—AOL, GMA News