Loren demands probe on MCJ inmates’ death

"Has the Manila City Jail (MCJ) become a veritable death row? I find it rather unusual that six of its inmates had died one after the other in just a span of two weeks."

Senate Majority Leader Loren Legarda aired today this concern as she asked government officials to investigate the cause of the successive deaths at the city jail so that appropriate actions could be undertaken.

"Four of the six who died had complained of difficulty in breathing, leaving us to wonder what virus or bacteria must be menacing inmates today at the MCJ," Legarda said.

"We call on the Interior, Justice and Health departments to coordinate with one another to determine if there’s an outbreak of any disease at MCJ and in other jails and prisons in the country," Legarda said. "They should treat those found to be sick, and quarantine those harboring communicable diseases."

The senator also asked jail officials to regularly disinfect facilities that house prisoners. Noting that police investigators have blamed the recent deaths at MCJ on the squalid conditions there, Legarda said it’s time more penal infrastructures are put in place.

"Building bigger facilities for inmates would ensure adequate living conditions, and at the same time, allow us to separate minors who are serving time from adult inmates," she said.

"With the hot weather we are currently experiencing and the police admitting that the MCJ lacks an adequate ventilation system, I would not be surprised if the city jail has turned into an oven-hot enclosure these days," she added.

"I shudder thinking how hot it would be in there when the dry spell associated with the El Niño affects the Philippines late this year."

Last May 18, Noel Estrella, 35, became the sixth inmate at the city jail to die in two weeks. Before expiring at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, he complained of body pains and difficulty in breathing.

MCJ inmates Jessie Espendido, 33 and Jerry Ambrosio both died on May 14. Espendido complained of shortness of breath while Amrbosio, in his early 20s, reportedly slipped and hit his head on the floor.

Last week, two more unidentified inmates at MCJ died after complaining of difficulty in breathing while another succumbed to tuberculosis, a highly communicable disease.