CHR orders probe of Bataan jail

BALANGA CITY, Philippines  – The Commission on Human Rights chairperson the other day ordered full-dress investigation on the alleged violent incident which resulted to injuries of 41 inmates of the Bataan Provincial Jail on Oct. 16.

Roseletta Rosales, CHR chair, motored to Bataan to assess the extent of injuries suffered by inmates during a dispersal operations by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) guards to stop the noise barrage which the latter claimed may trigger a jailbreak.

Rosales said “definitely there are human rights violations and I will send a team of investigators regarding the incident ,“ when asked by newsmen while she was on her way to the female detainees section of the 1,000 square-meter jail compound near the Bataan capitol complex.

Lawyer Emiliano Pomer, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Bataan chapter, told The STAR that some 200 relatives of inmates have camped outside of the jail steel gate entrance since last week to ensure the safety and no more harm would happen to the inmates if they continue monitoring what is happening inside the heavily-guarded jail premises.

He said the best way to calm down the volatile situation is the immediate replacement of the present BJMP guards who have overacted in a critical incident.

The local IBP chapter has intervened to avoid bigger problems to boil up when the lawyers’ group filed a petition which the regional trial court granted to allow medical check ups and treatment for wounded inmates.

Pomer explained to relatives of inmates, individually injured inmate could file charges against the abusive guards when sought his opinion on the right of detainees to seek redress from the court.