Duterte’s drug war pushes prisons to a breaking point

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Philippine Jails News

Duterte Administration,Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,Human Rights

Part 1: Datasets obtained and analyzed by Rappler show that Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against drugs sent prison populations soaring beyond the 100,000 mark, and held drug defendants hostage in delayed trials

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Carlo was acquitted in October 2023, declared innocent from a crime that was stalled 4 years and 6 months in trial because the courts just could not keep up. “There were more than 20 hearings which kept being reset,” Carlo told Rappler, “we were also caught up in the pandemic, and in the end, the police could not form a consistent narrative against us.

Bustinera was talking about 2017, the second year of the drug war when the population hit 146,302. Of that population, 67% or 98,446 or PDLs were drug defendants. That was equivalent to a congestion rate of 612%, or an average of 61 detainees sharing a cell meant for only 10.The data shows it didn’t change much, because arrests continued.

Non-drug cases can be collateral damage, too. Lorna*, not her real name, was arrested on a murder charge in 2015, just before Duterte’s ascent to power. She has been in jail for nine years now, waiting on her twice-a-year hearings while detained at the Dasmariñas City Female Dormitory in Cavite – considered the most congested prison in the country. It’s a small space meant for only 11 people, but holds 312 PDLs. That’s equivalent to a 2,600% congestion rate.

“Because of the sheer volume of drugs cases, courts are focused on them and of course what happens is, the other cases get delayed,” Alvarez said. Jerry’s cell in Metro Manila housed 100. “We sleep in a sitting position,” he said. Carlo’s cell, also in Metro Manila, housed more than 200, he said, where he experienced having to sleep only on his side.

Among the most common was the suspects’ willingness to stay in jail despite having a set bail, just because they could not afford the bond. Duterte promised to eradicate the country’s drug problem within three to six months, but his government sent to jail only a handful of drug lords. If you base it on the high volume of plea bargains, Alvarez said, it’s an indication that the campaign against drugs targeted only low-level drug users.

The local drug council reporting is part of a menu of “aftercare referrals” that have been employed by the legal system to decongest courts and prisons of drug cases. Another aftercare referral is the drug dependency evaluation/assessment that needs to be administered after a plea bargain release.

Source: Entertainment Trends (entertainmenttrends.net)

Duterte Administration Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Human Rights Philippine Drug War Victims Philippine Justice System Prison War On Drugs Investigative Data And Documents Editors' Pick National News Newsbreak Philippine News

 

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