With the threat of a highly contagious Delta variant of Covid-19 in the Philippines, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) urges the government to equally give attention to the condition of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) and their need for Covid-19 vaccination, including the welfare of personnel managing jails and other detention facilities.
CHR has continuously drawn attention to the serious overcrowding of jails and detention facilities in the country even before the pandemic—further worsened by poor hygiene, ventilation, and healthcare support. In 2019, the Bureau of Jail Management of Penology (BJMP) reports a 450% congestion rate.
While we note that, during the early days of the pandemic, several government agencies, including the BJMP; the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor); the Department of the Interior and Local Government; and the Supreme Court, have already looked into ways of managing and decongesting jails and detention facilities, the evolving threats of the pandemic necessitates revising strategies in managing the effects of Covid-19.
As of August 2021, BuCor reports that only 474, all senior citizens, out of 48,000 PDLs in seven (7) prison facilities under BuCor across the country have been vaccinated against Covid-19. Two hundred (200) PDLs were vaccinated at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City; 214 at the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City, and 60 at the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Davao del Norte.
BuCor shares that vaccination of PDLs and prison personnel remains to be dependent on local governments where prison facilities are situated.
To this end, we lauds the efforts of several local government units (LGUs) that have included elderly inmates and those with comorbidities in the priority list for vaccination.
In General Santos, the city has started its inoculation of 169 PDLs comprised 147 male and 22 female PDLs under priority groups A2 (senior citizens) and A3 (persons with comorbidities). The jail management also reports that 24 of their 25 personnel were already vaccinated against Covid-19. In Bocaue, Bulacan, the municipal jail became the country’s first jail facility with both inmates and personnel fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with all 148 persons deprived PDLs detained at the said facility, along with the 19 BJMP personnel, who are all now fully immunized against the pandemic.
As the country’s independent national human rights institution, CHR stresses the importance and obligation of the government to treat all PDLs with humans with inherent dignity and rights, including their right to health. In the CHR Human Rights Advisory on Protecting the Rights of Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) during the Covid-19 Crisis, CHR recalls that under Mandela Rules “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.” We caution that neglect of this duty may result in cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment, which goes against the country’s commitment to the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UN CAT) and its Optional Protocol (OPCAT).
The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights also echoes that governments have an obligation to provide vaccines for groups that are at high risk of contagion, such as incarcerated people.
In line with our #Vaccine4All campaign, CHR shall continue to call for greater and equitable access to vaccines, especially for weak, maginalised, and vulnerable populations, guided by human right standards. ###