5,000 prisoners at NBP die yearly – BuCor official

Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Thu, 03 Oct 2019 10:07:35 +0000

At least 5,000 prisoners at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City die every year, said an official from the Bureau of Corrections.

BuCor Director for Health Services Ernesto Tamayo told the Senate Justice Committee hearing yesterday that 20 percent of the total population of the NBP die annually due to various illnesses.

Tamayo, who is also the chief of the NBP Hospital, said there are currently about 26,000 inmates at the State penitentiary.

“Hindi na namin ma-contain ‘yung PTB, pulmonary tuberculosis,” Tamayo said when asked by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, citing the NBP’s overcrowded cells.

The doctor also said that some inmates were dying of stab wounds they sustained during riots inside the prison.

Hontiveros, citing a report, said the Philippine correctional system has the highest congestion rate in the world at 605 percent, far exceeding second place Haiti which has  320 percent.

Sen. Richard Gordon, Senate Justice Committee chairman, said he was shocked by the BuCor official’s revelations and instructed Tamayo to submit to the panel their about data about the deaths of the inmates.

Meanwhile, Hontiveros urged the Senate Justice Committee to recommend the revocation of the medical license granted to NBP Hospital medical officer Urcisio Cenas for his involvement in the so-called “hospital pass for sale” scheme at the NBP.

Hontive
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