Press Release
June 28, 2018

LGUs should devote resources to ensure the humane treatment of prisoners

Following the death of an arrested "tambay" inside a jail facility in Quezon City, Senator Richard J. Gordon called on local government units to devote resources for ensuring the humane treatment of prisoners.

Gordon, chairman of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights,pointed out that resources should be allocated for the improvement of the country's jail facilities such as addressing the congestion issue which poses health risks to detainees and deprives them of humane conditions.

"The Philippine Red Cross has scoured the country and found that jails and detention facilities all over are massively overcrowded and lack sanitary facilities. Prisoners have human rights too which is why I am calling on LGUs to devote resources for ensuring the humane treatment of prisoners," the senator, who is also chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, said.

"Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights mandates that '[a]ll persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.' It also requires that 'the reform and social readaptation of prisoners' be an 'essential aim' of imprisonment," he added.

Genesis "Tisoy" Argoncillo, an arrested "tambay" died last week after he was allegedly mauled by fellow inmates in the Novaliches Police Station. Argoncillo was one of the more than 7,000 "tambay" in Metro Manila who were arrested by the police as part of the government's campaign against loitering.

Gordon also proposed the revocation of the cityhood of cities that fail to provide sufficient and humane facilities to detainees or prisoners.

News Latest News Feed