Philippines takes humane steps to reduce overcrowding in prisons
The Philippines’ Supreme Court has adopted more humane ways to reduce imprisonment and decongest prisons in the country.
This is part of efforts to improve justice delivery in the country and tackle overcrowding in the majority of the country’s detention facilities.
Among these methods is the Magbasa Tungo sa Paglaya (Read Your Way Out) programme, an initiative launched by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to alleviate heavily congested jails in the country.
Through the programme, prisoners can access education through the use of prison library services and prove themselves worthy of release through good behaviour.
Older prisoners who are aged 70 and above are also being prioritised and pre-trial detention is being reduced.
Efforts are also being made only to incarcerate persons involved in serious offences.
“Of all those people detained in our jails, around 70 per cent have not yet finished their trial. So, they are there on preventive imprisonment even if their offences are not serious,” Justice Maria Filomena Singh, Supreme Court Judge in the Philippines was quoted.
“These people have not yet been proven guilty, and yet we treat them no differently from those who have already been convicted,” she added.
Justice Singh also noted that the cost of bail has also been reduced and prisoners can also attend court appearances online from specific jails.
The approach to dealing with drug-related crimes has also been changed to ensure such cases are seen through the lens of prevention and rehabilitation rather than as crimes.
According to Justice Singh, the new methods appear to be working so far with the release of some 8,000 prisoners in the last year alone.
The Philippines has one of the most congested prison systems in the world with a similar ranking to other countries including DR Congo, Haiti, and Uganda. The country has an overall occupation rate for pre-trail jails of a reported 322 per cent (down from 365 per cent in 2023). Philippine’s prison population has also risen from around 95,000 to over 160,000 between 2015 and 2021.
