Philippine jails have been judged and have been found wanting. And by neutral foreign experts, at that. In a recent article by Dona Pazzibugan of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, quoted the observations of Anne Marie Noren Offerman of the Correctional Service of Sweden and Rev. Birgitta Winberg, president, International Prison Chaplains Association (IPCA), who were among those who took part in a recent meeting of an international ecumenical network of prison chaplains sponsored by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care. Members of the IPCA visited Manila City Jail to check on conditions there and held a press conference thereafter.
The quotes from Madame Offerman and Rev. Winberg were as follows:
“It’s easy to get tired and give up because anyway we’re a poor country. But you can do a lot even without money”;
Narrating their talk with one woman prisoner: “She’s been in prison 12 years but she’s not been sentenced. She said there were 200 of them (in a similar situation). When we asked for a show of hands, about 30 raised their hands and said they were not yet convicted”;
“It’s not about being a poor country, it’s about a system that is not in order”;
“The situation of the prisoners here was among the most impoverished we have seen in any prison”;
“It’s worse here. The overcrowding and the standard of the prison system here are failing, actually”;
“You must speed up the procedure. I know there is a lack of lawyers, a lack of prosecutors, a lack of judges. But it is possible to do things”;
“Filipino prison authorities start with the cases of those who had been in jail at least three years without being convicted”;
“You take their records, work with the judges to expedite the cases. I don’t think that will take a long time”:
“In Manila City Jail, I was impressed by the prisoners and the prison staff because they’re able to survive”.
May I reproduce in full the Pazzibugan article below. Thus:
‘Poverty no excuse for having bad jails’
By Dona Pazzibugan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:10:00 11/30/2008
MANILA, Philippines—Being a poor country is no excuse for the Philippines to have substandard jails and a slow justice system, a group of visiting foreign prison chaplains and officials has pointed out.
“It’s easy to get tired and give up because anyway we’re a poor country. But you can do a lot even without money,” said Anne Marie Noren Offerman of the Correctional Service of Sweden.
Offerman took part in a recent meeting of an international ecumenical network of prison chaplains sponsored by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care.
Members of the International Prison Chaplains’ Association Worldwide (IPCA) visited Manila City Jail to check on conditions there. They spoke at a press conference on Friday.
Offerman said she was shocked to hear the story of one woman prisoner.
“She’s been in prison 12 years but she’s not been sentenced. She said there were 200 of them (in a similar situation). When we asked for a show of hands, about 30 raised their hands and said they were not yet convicted,” Offerman said.
“It’s not about being a poor country, it’s about a system that is not in order,” she said.
The CBCP estimates there are 90,000 prisoners being held in various facilities meant to hold less than a quarter of that number.
Mirrors the government
ICPA President Rev. Birgitta Winberg said prison conditions mirrored the kind of government a country had.
“The more prosperous countries, like Sweden, had better facilities with rehabilitation programs while the poorer countries like the Philippines could afford only the most basic accommodations,” she said.
Winberg said the situation of the prisoners here was among the “most impoverished we have seen in any prison.”
“It’s worse here. The overcrowding and the standard of the prison system here are failing, actually,” she said.
Offerman said prison authorities could not forever blame the problem of prison congestion on the shortcomings of the legal system.
“You must speed up the procedure. I know there is a lack of lawyers, a lack of prosecutors, a lack of judges. (But) it is possible to do things.”
She suggested Filipino prison authorities start with the cases of those who had been in jail at least three years without being convicted.
“You take their records, work with the judges to expedite the cases. I don’t think that will take a long time,” Offerman said.
“In Manila City Jail, I was impressed by the prisoners and the prison staff because they’re able to survive. If I were put there, I should die. I would not be able to live,” she said.
see:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/metro/view/20081130-175250/Poverty-no-excuse-for-having-bad-jails
