Manila councilor bats for better jail facilities

A Manila councilor filed an ordinance that would prohibit the transfer of inmates from police detention cells to the city jail, unless the jail warden can assure them of "humane accommodations."

Sixth District Councilor Julio Logarta Jr. said "humane accommodations" include adequate food and water supply, open space for sun exposure, private rooms for lawyer and conjugal visits.

According to Logarta, inmates could not be assured of "human accommodation" considering the present state of the Manila City Jail, in which the detainees are packed like sardines inside their cells.

The councilor said he personally saw the sorry state of the jail when he conducted a visit to the institution recently.

Logarta added the jail should serve as a rehabilitation center but since youth offenders are mixed with hardened criminals, it failed to serve the purpose.

At present, the MCJ is overcrowded with some 3,600 inmates, when it is designed to accommodate only some 800. Offenders arrested by the police are transferred to the MCJ before their arraignment in court. Under the ordinance, Logarta said the jail warden could turn down the inmates transferred to the MCJ from a police detention cell. – Cecille Suerte Felipe