Human rights lawyers in the Philippines have warned the Supreme Court that not releasing vulnerable prisoners amid coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic might cause worse consequences like riots.
In a report by Rappler, the Public Interest Law Center (PILC) and National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) submitted a letter on April 27 responding to the points raised by Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) seeking to shelve the petition for lack of legal basis.
READ ALSO: Human rights groups warn of “catastrophic” impact if COVID-19 affects jails in PH; recommend early release of some prisoners
The OSG claimed that congestion of prisoners in jails is not enough to allow temporary release of vulnerable prisoners.
PILC and NUPL said that if the pandemic is left uncheck in prisons, riots and violence might break out.
“Prisoner- patients will have to be treated in hospitals, overwhelming our already overburdened public health system. Prisoners afflicted with the disease may infect a large number of co-prisoners, health workers, prison guards, and other non-prisoners should an epidemic rage inside prisons,” they said.
RELATED STORY: 18 prisoners, 1 staff of Women’s Correctional positive for COVID-19
There are currently 228 COVID-19 cases both in prisoners and personnel in detention facilities as of April 27—210 in Cebu City Jail, and 18 at the Quezon City Jail. In addition, there are 48 confirmed COVID-19 cases at the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) and one in Bilibid—who died from the virus.
SEE ALSO: 9 QC jail inmates, 9 BJMP personnel contract COVID-19
