By Sen. AQUILINO Q. PIMENTEL JR.
(Privilege speech in observance of Prison Awareness Week and the Centennial of the Bureau of Corrections, October 12, 2005, Senate, Pasay City.)
M
R. President, the men you saw perform before us last Monday, October 10, are students of the University of Perpetual Help Extension School. They are in the process of earning a degree in business administration. They are also prisoners of the National Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa who are doing time and paying their debts to society.
At a time when our penal system is being assailed by media, both local and foreign, these students and the Juvenile Detention Center of the Bureau of Corrections seem to be the only good news in Philippine prison reform. A few weeks ago, Cable News Network (CNN) featured the sorry state of jails managed by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and the sad plight of many juvenile detainees therein.
Minor offenders
Fortunately, this is not the case with minors in the Bureau of Corrections who are given proper attention and treatment as minors in conflict with the law. They are housed separately and are not mingled with adult convicts. They have facilities that are conducive to learning and designed for their proper rehabilitation. If only to assure that minors and detainees in our jails are treated properly, I am thinking of suggesting the crafting of a law that would transfer the functions of the BJMP to the Bureau of Corrections.
Serious problems
But while the Bureau of Corrections, which is headed by Director Vicente Vinarao, may be a bright spot in the Department of Justice, Mr. President, it is nevertheless plagued by serious problems most of which are financial in nature. Such problems seriously curtail its effectiveness in prisoner rehabilitation and prison reform. These problems Mr. President are as follows:
1. CONGESTION — There are about 30,000 prisoners in prisons all over the Philippines. Prison dormitories are bursting to the seams. Prisoners sleep like sardines inside these dormitories. At night, a prisoner who wakes up to answer the call of nature comes back only to find out that someone else has already taken his sleeping space. Some prisoners have bunk beds. Most sleep on the floor. Prison buildings are very old. Now and then, the prison walls get fresh coats of paint. The painting job, however, merely masks the sad reality that lurks inside their suffocating cells. They are dark and they smell. Facilities like toilets and bathrooms are in a very dilapidated condition. There is no running water in most of these prison dormitories.
Prison Population 2005
(As of August)
National Bilibid Prisons – 18,825
Correctional Institute for Women – 1,281
Iwahig Penal Colony – 2,156
Davao Prison and Penal Farm – 3,857
San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm (Zamboanga) – 1,159
Sablayan Prison & Penal Farm (Occidental Mindoro) – 1,354
Leyte Regional Prison – 1,091
TOTAL – 29,723
Maximum Security Prison
2. SICKNESS — The lack of living and sleeping space in prison dormitories make them havens for sickness. A great number of prisoners suffer from infections, skin diseases, tuberculosis and a host of other ailments. This problem is compounded by the lack of funding for prisoner medication. The Bureau of Corrections only has a medicine budget of one peso (
R1) per prisoner per day.
There are 660 patients in the Bilibid Hospital inside the maximum security prison. There is only one blood pressure apparatus for all 660 patients. There are no ultrasound machines, electro-cardiograph equipment, cardiac monitors or even a blood bank refrigerator in the Bilibid hospital. The X-ray machine is over a century old. The operating room is a throwback to the early 1900s. Prison doctors and medical personnel heroically make do with the antiquated equipment they have for emergency cases. Patients who are in serious need of medical attention from better-equipped hospitals outside have to go through the tedious process of seeking court or DoJ approval. At times, such approval comes too late or not at all.
The
R1-a-day medical budget per prisoner naturally terribly impacts on the state of health of the inmates.
Terminally ill
Take the case of Rodolfo Monteclaro whom you see on the screen. This 60-year-old convict has been in prison for the last 10 years for rape. He is critically ill with tuberculosis and has been spitting blood for a long time now. He might not last the month. The budget of the Bureau for medicine is not enough to meet his needs and those who are similarly afflicted with serious illnesses. In the maximum security hospital of the Bilibid, there are about 40 prisoners who are terminally ill like Rodolfo.
The psychiatric ward has 154 patients. These are prisoners who were not able to mentally bear the reality of life inside the Bilibid. Four of these psychiatric patients have served their sentences in full but remain in the prison hospital simply because their families do not want them back.
Smell of death
The most depressing aspect of prison hospitalization, however, is that a dying patient can see and smell death. Just outside the Bilibid hospital is the prison morgue. If only to stress the need for Congress to do something about this matter, I would like you to see pictures of this house of death. Inside, embalmed corpses of convicts await relatives who have expressed their desire to claim them. Sometimes, the waiting takes weeks. At times, it takes months depending on whether the poor relatives can raise the needed amount to transport the dead. Prison authorities have tried their best to improve the situation but the lack of funds has always succeeded in stifling their efforts.
Repairs needed
To address the problems of congestion and sickness in prison, the Bureau of Corrections is asking Congress for funds to build new dormitories, repair the Bilibid hospital and purchase much needed equipment, medicine and supplies. It is also seeking funds for a badly-needed drug treatment and rehabilitation center as many inmates are hooked on drugs and this interferes with their rehabilitation. The Bureau of Corrections needs just over 45 million pesos for all of these. I strongly urge the Senate to appropriate the required amount for this purpose.
Humanizing penal system
In the meantime, I urge the Bureau of Corrections to establish branches of the Correctional Institute for Women in the Visayas and Mindanao. Those branches will allow women prisoners coming from those regions to be a bit closer to their families and thereby help humanize the penal system.
In an inspired move, Director Vinarao and Atty. Rachel D. Ruelo recently installed telephone facilities in the Correctional Institute for Women. I believe all prisons in the country should have a similar system as it will give relatives and friends of inmates specially those from the Visayas and Mindanao a much cheaper way of keeping in touch. Hearing the voices of one’s wife, children and friends even in prison makes even the inmate concerned a little more human and perhaps even desirous of rehabilitating himself or herself to eventually link up physically with his or her loved ones. Many families of prisoners have to save for the whole year just to be able to travel to Manila and visit their kin within the prisons.
3. LOW MORALE/PAY — The third problem of the Bureau of Corrections is the low morale of its employees. And this is directly related to the low salaries that the Government pays them. Bureau of Corrections employees receive far less than jail guards of the BJMP even if they perform relatively similar functions. They get much lower than policemen in the PNP.
I guess we have to remedy the inequitable situation by raising their pay scale. I also propose that they be given insurance and health benefits. The call for upgrading the monetary benefits of the Bureau employees may sound ironic considering the escape of some of the inmates yesterday. But looking at the situation beyond the recent sad events would bring out the urgency of providing not only the upgraded benefits for the employees but also the repair of the facilities of the Bureau.
Bureau of Correctional employees
4. RUINED LIVES/MISSED OPPORTUNITIES OF PRISONERS — One other problem of the Bureau of Corrections is that it is saddled by antiquated laws and government inaction. The two circumstances combined have further ruined the lives of prisoners and caused them to miss golden opportunities to live normal lives again.
Thousands of prisoners are serving time for crimes against property like theft, robbery and estafa (swindling). For example, half of all women prisoners are in prison for crimes against property, principally estafa. Many of these women are mothers (married or single parents) who were the bread winners of their families and were separated from their children upon their arrest or conviction. This forced separation has effectively orphaned thousands of children.
One of the women imprisoned for estafa is Zenaida Alvarez, 73 years old. The amount involved in her case is
R20,000.
Jailing for debt
What makes the plight of those guilty of estafa sadder is that when a bouncing check is involved, the accused can also be sentenced for the violation of Batas Pambansa Bilang 22 in addition to the penalty imposed by the court for the crime of estafa. This is like doubling the penalty imposed upon the accused for the same act. The Constitution provides that "no person shall be imprisoned for debt." And while we are aware of jurisprudence stating that what the law punishes under BP 22 is the issuance of a worthless check, the accused is really being sent to prison for debt. Worse, in most BP 22 cases, the State is merely being used by the plaintiff as a collecting agent to force a debtor to pay or go to jail.
Antiquated crimes
Then, there are certain antiquated provisions of the Revised Penal Code. For stealing
R5, an accused can be imprisoned up to four months. For stealing R200, an accused can be sent to prison up to six years. For stealing R122,000, an accused can be imprisoned for 20 years. What is R5 worth today, Mr. President? It can not even buy a can of soda. Yet, one can go to prison for four months for such a measly amount. What is R200, Mr. President? It’s the lunch budget of an employee in Makati. Yet, a person can lose six years of freedom for it. What R122,000? It can buy two expensive cell phones but one can lose a lifetime for it.
Qualified theft
Worse Mr. President is the penalty imposed by Article 310 of the Revised Penal Code for qualified theft. Stealing a
R5 coconut from an haciendero’s plantation can make one rot in prison for 10 years. And who steals such small amounts of money Mr. President? Who steals a coconut? In all probability, it is a poor man who needs to feed his hungry children. Or perhaps, a housemaid who runs away with her mistress’ new dress or a few pesos lying around unattended in the latter’s luxurious bedroom. A rich person will not bother with such paltry sums. That is the sad reality of our justice system that is reflected in the prison population. A vast majority of people in prison are poor.
Revising the Revised Penal Code
But why does the law impose such long sentences for very minor crimes, Mr. President? Why the inequity? The answer is that the Revised Penal Code which imposes the penalties was passed on December 8, 1930 or almost 75 years ago when the value of the US dollar to the Philippine peso was almost the same or at most
R2 to the $. Since then, the value of the peso has consistently depreciated.
Unfortunately, the Penal Code does not allow the automatic adjustment of the penalties in accordance with the present value of the peso. Congress has long failed to address this need. It is time to act Mr. President. The solution is simple. Let us put an end to this injustice and adjust the penalties to more realistic levels based on the present value of the peso. For the same reason, let us adjust the fines imposed by the Revised Penal Code to make them more practical and effective deterrents to crime. For this purpose, I propose that we task the University of the Philippines Law Center to study the matter and submit its recommendation to the Senate within six months.
Once passed into law, the benefits of this proposal Mr. President will be immediate and far-reaching. It will lead to the immediate release of prisoners who have suffered more than enough and ought now to be given the chance to live more useful and productive lives with their families. It will decongest the prisons and also mean hundreds of millions of pesos in savings for the Government in prison maintenance costs.
Good conduct
Another reason for prisoners’ sad plight is the fact that they are not entitled to good conduct allowance while their cases are on appeal. For this reason, many inmates with appealed cases are forced to improvidently withdraw their appeals to qualify for good conduct allowances.
An example is Miguela Galangue, 79 years old, who claims that she is innocent and that the marijuana blamed by the police on her was simply left in front of her house. To avail of good conduct allowance, this old lady withdrew her appeal. If she were really innocent, withdrawing the appeal and in effect admitting the commission of the crime made her a victim twice over. Again, the solution to this problem is to amend the Penal Code (Article 97) and allow inmates even with appealed cases to qualify for good conduct allowances.
I have instructed my Staff to prepare the bill for this purpose soon and I ask our colleagues to be co-authors of the bill to help rectify this injustice.
I also seek their help to pass Senate Bill No. 2022 that seeks to grant additional good conduct allowance to prisoners who participate in literacy, skills, and values development programs in prison. Prisoners, whether as students or teachers, in prison educational institutions and training centers shall be given a 15 day credit for every month of study or teaching time towards the service of their sentences.
A prisoner’s good conduct deserves recompense in the law. Many prisoners are unschooled. This could have contributed to their transgression of the law. Ignorance costs more than education and no better proof of this could be found in prisons where tangible returns on time and monetary investments are wanting. The benefit of this bill lies in increasing literacy and skills of prisoners thereby facilitating their reintegration into society.
Again, the reduction of the prisoner’s incarceration period will lead to the decongestion of our penal institutions and savings for the government. Prisoners like the student-inmates you saw perform earlier and their classmates will be some of the beneficiaries of this bill. In the Bilibid it is encouraging to see illiterate old men learning how to read and write for the first time. Mr. President I call on the President while she is still there to grant executive clemency to deserving prisoners. And there are many of them. Terminally ill patients like the TB-stricken Rodolfo Monteclaro who has served enough prison time and poses no threat to society should be seriously considered being granted pardon. As I said, there are about 40 sickly and old prisoners in the maximum security prison at the Bilibid who fall in this category. In the Correctional Institute for women, there are about 20 sick and elderly women recommended for executive clemency. The ages of these women prisoners range from 76 years to 85 years old.
Again, I urge the President to consider commuting the sentences of prisoners recommended by the Board of Pardons and Parole. There are over 6,000+ prisoners who have served the minimum periods of their sentences who are eligible and have been recommended for commutation of sentence. I sincerely hope that the President finds the time to consider their cases and give them the chance to become productive members of society.
Old women prisoners hoping to be pardoned
As a political detainee during the Marcos years, I can tell her and everyone who cares to listen that every single day spent in jail is a living hell. The only way one could understand this is to experience it but I do not wish that kind of experience for her or for any of our people.
Commuting the sentences of qualified prisoners will also result in hundreds of millions in savings for the Government. The annual cost of food for inmates of the BJMP alone amounts to about
R1 billion. The cost of food for prisoners in the Bureau of Corrections is about R440 million every year. If ever the Constitution is to be amended, I would ask that the power to grant commutations be given to other Government officials like the Secretary of Justice as is the practice in Japan or the Head Judge of the regional divisions of the Court of Appeals. This arrangement will assure the process of commuting sentences will be acted on much more speedily.
Abolish the death penalty
Finally Mr. President, in fitting observance of Prison Awareness Week and the 100th Anniversary of the Bureau of Corrections, I would like to renew my call to Congress for the abolition of the death penalty. I believe that there is no place for capital punishment in a society that is truly civilized. Death is final and gives the convict no chance to reform or correct himself. The primary purpose of imprisonment is rehabilitation. This is why the Bureau is called the Bureau of Corrections. When a prisoner is executed, dies of sickness in prison, or is released when he or she is too old, then there is nothing left to correct. And title "Bureau of Corrections" becomes a misnomer or an aberration.
Hope in the future
Mr. President, Jean Valjean, Victor Hugo’s beloved hero in his classic novel Les Miserables, after serving a prison term, was able to return to society, become his people’s champion and eventually mayor of his town because a man of God, Bishop Myriel, gave him a second chance. I believe there is a Bishop Myriel in all of us. Prison can break one’s body physically and wound one’s self-esteem or spirit mortally. What is important is that one’s spirit, like that of Jean Valjean, is kept unbroken. And this can happen to prisoners if they can have hope in the future.
That hope, my dear colleagues, we give to them. As legislators, we can do that by passing much needed reforms in the penal system. Thank you very much.
