The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) lauds the recent pronouncement of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) on its assurance to get all Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) and personnel in its seven prison facilities vaccinated against the Covid-19. Efforts to help decongest and preventive actions to stop the spread of the pandemic in jails and detention facilities is specifically in line with this year’s National Correctional Consciousness Week theme “Magkaisa, Magtulungan, Magdamayan, Covid-19 ay Labanan.”
In the past, CHR has called attention to the conditions of jails and detention facilities in the country as overcrowded prison conditions increase the risk of disease transmission. This condition makes detained individuals, especially the elderly and those with comorbidities, increasingly vulnerable to Covid-19.
In the CHR Human Rights Advisory on Protecting the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) during the Covid-19 Crisis, we recall under the Nelson Mandela Rules that “all PDLs must enjoy health care with similar standards to those available in the community and should have access to necessary health-care services free of charge and without discrimination.” Thus, aside from judiciary action to help decongest jails, increased preventive action that include inoculation of high-risk inmates is in line with the government’s obligation to protect the health of PDLs.
Let us remember in celebration of this year’s National Correctional Consciousness Week the dignity of the offender as basis for the citizenry to extend support, humane understanding, and sympathy to PDLs for their successful reintegration into society. We remain hopeful in the continuing weeks that more local government units will include elderly PDLs, especially those with comorbidities, in their vaccination priority list. Low Covid case rates amidst increasing vaccination rates of PDLs and correctional officers is a clear indication of the benefits of vaccination and positive movement towards the goal of zero Covid-19 cases amongst the prison population.
Proclamation No. 551, s. 1995 declares the last week of October as National Correctional Consciousness Week.
Rest assured, CHR as the lead agency in the Interim National Preventive Mechanism shall continue to exercise its mandate to visit jails and detention facilities to help ensure government compliance to the humane treatment of the accused and incarcerated as also reflected in the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners or Nelson Mandela Rules and other pertinent human rights laws and standards. #Vaccine4All #DignityOfAll