Political prisoners in NBP urge DOJ to stop transfer to penal colonies

New Bilibid Prisons. Screengrab from https://www.bucor.gov.ph/ MANILA, Philippines — A support group of political prisoners on Friday is asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) to intervene in the looming mass relocation of political prisoners from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) to far-flung penal colonies outside of Metro Manila. Through Kapatid, led by its spokesperson Fides Lim, at least 45 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) signed an urgent petition addressed to Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida to retain their detention at the NBP. “Right now, they are forced to transfer… It’s very disruptive, very unjust. This is being done under the pretense that it [solves] congestion. But as we pointed out, they are actually simply exporting PDLs from an already congested condition to an even more extremely congested condition,” Lim said in an interview. Article continues after this advertisement READ: Legarda hails signing of GIDA Schools Act into law Among those who signed the petition are 12 seniors and 18 others with severe illnesses, many of whom are detained at the NBP maximum security compound. Lim said that their right to basic human survival would be violated once they are transferred. Invoking the Nelson Mandela Rules of the United Nations, which promote the minimum standards for the human treatment of prisoners, Lim stressed that detainees should be held near to their home communities. Rule 59 of the Nelson Mandela Rules states that prisoners should be assigned to prisons “close to their homes or their places of social rehabilitation.” Many of the PDLs who would likely be transferred to penal colonies came from areas close to Metro Manila, such as the regions of Calabarzon, Bicol and Central Luzon. “That’s why they risk losing their support system,” Lim added. Article continues after this advertisement Lim, who is the wife of Vicente Ladlad, a peace consultant for the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) who has been detained since 2018 in Camp Bagong Diwa on charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosive, said Kapatid has noted that over 16,000o PDLs have been “forcibly relocated” to penal colonies in Sablayan in Mindoro, Ihawig in Palawan, San Ramon in Zamboanga del Sur, Abuyog in Leyte and Davao del Norte She said the group has noticed the pattern of mass transfers in the last three years. “It started approximately around 2022, particularly under (Director General Gregorio) Catapang Jr.,” she said. Catapang first took over BuCor as officer in charge in October 2022, before being formally appointed to the post 2023. Article continues after this advertisement “Moving human beings from an overcrowded facility in Muntinlupa to regional penal colonies that are already operating 200 percent to 500 percent over-capacity is a zero-sum game,” said Lim. “It does not reduce the national prison population, but simply banishes the crisis out of sight while pushing regional facilities to a severe breaking point.” The DOJ has yet to confirm the petition from Kapatid or comment on the issue. /mr Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful.