Leaders of the Makabayan bloc in Congress together with Kapatid, the support group for political prisoners, conducted an ocular inspection on Tuesday of the newly constructed Metro Manila District Jail-Main in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City that revealed rows of small cells on the seventh floor of the facility which could be used for solitary confinement, raising questions about their legality.
The site visit was led by Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) chief Ruel Rivera and BJMP NCR Regional Director Clint Russel Tangeres. They were joined by Act Teachers Party-List leaders France Castro and Antonio L. Tinio with the ACT and Gabriela Partylist legislative staff, National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers chairperson Atty. Edre Olalia, Kapatid spokesperson Fides Lim and relatives of political prisoners.
The inspection was prompted by a dialogue with the BJMP held last March 5 in the House Minority Room, where the Makabayan representatives and Kapatid raised concerns about solitary isolation cells reportedly designated for political prisoners and Moro detainees inside the new jail facility and US involvement in its construction and operations through the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP), an agency under the US Department of Justice.
Republic Act 9745 or Anti-Torture Act of 2009 and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Mandela Rules, specifically prohibit continuous solitary confinement beyond 15 days as this amounts to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
The BJMP showed a video about the sections of the new jail facility. The video and the ocular inspection that followed confirmed the existence of what the video termed as “high-risk cells.”
“The ocular inspection was most important because we were able to see for ourselves these disturbing solitary cells. Each small cell even had double iron-bar gates from floor to ceiling – an outside gate and an inner gate that partition an area in between. The issue is not whether a small cell can accommodate more than one person but the inhumane practice of punishing inmates by isolating them for whatever reasons,” said ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro.
Kapatid spokesperson Fides Lim noted, “BJMP chief General Rivera tried to assure us that these cells were not specifically built for the political prisoners nor will they be put there. But we remain anxious given the rising ICITAP involvement in Philippine jails and its program against ‘violent extremism’ not unlike the NTF-ELCAC’s objective of political persecution.”
“Political prisoners are not terrorists nor criminals that they should be moved into isolation like the US Guantanamo prison camp that has proven to be a failure. We really hope General Rivera will be true to his word they won’t be transfered to isolation cells,” Lim said.
Following the site visit, Atty. Edre Olalia summarized the “commitments” made by the BJMP chief to their group:
- There will be no solitary confinement anywhere in the new facility – whether in the 2- or 4-person cells or in the 10-person cells, much less in a single-person cell which does not exist, even as a form of punishment. The only exception is a PDL who is mentally ill or has a communicable disease or a danger to himself or others, in which case foam walls may be installed to prevent any harm to the PDL.
- The political prisoners will not be placed on the seventh floor where all the solitary cells are located, unless they choose otherwise rather than in the 10-person cells on other floors.
- The lock receptacles in the inner gate dividing each small solitary cell on the seventh floor will be dismantled to allow free movement inside such cell.
- Contrary to the description in the BJMP video, there is no “interrogation room” in the new facility. The room will be used only to question visitors caught smuggling alleged contraband. It will not be used to interrogate any PDL.
Kapatid reiterated the request of the political prisoners at the nearby MMDJ Annex 4 (MMDJ-4) not to be transferred since they are not congested in their current quarters.
After the ocular tour, the Makabayan group and Kapatid members thanked the BJMP chief for allowing them to see the new detention facility. They visited the MMDJ-4 political prisoners after to check on their condition and bring food and to also inform them about the BJMP assurances.
