Almost 5,000 inmates in QC jail suffer from congestion, heat

Thousands of prisoners could not escape the misery of enduring the stifling heat inside their congested detention cells in Quezon City Jail amid the dry season.

According to a report by Mariz Umali in GMA's 24 Oras on Wednesday, some inmates were already suffering from skin and respiratory diseases, as well as high blood pressure.

"Namumula ho 'yung balat tapos hindi po maiwasang hindi makamot lalo na 'pagka pinapawisan ka na pagka 'yung tanghali na po. Mainit na 'yung singaw ng mga tao sa ano, nagsisimula na ho 'yang mangati," one of the inmates said.

"Ang hirap hong huminga kung baga 'yung nilalabas na init ng katawan ng tao nalalanghap na rin ng kapwa inmate mo," another prisoner said.

The problem of water shortage has also crept into their daily struggle.

"Sa pagligo man lang, kung kaya nilang maligo dalawang beses isang araw mas maganda. Ang problema naman po natin El Niño so kulang din po ng tubig," said J/CSupt. Allan Iral, OIC of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

To temporarily alleviate the suffocating feeling, many inmates choose to stay at the basketball court of the jail facility where they are also exposed under the sun.

There are 4,840 prisoners in the Quezon City Jail. This number far exceeds the jail's capacity of 800 which was set by the BJMP.

Based on the standards of the United Nations, there should only be 263 inmates in the said jail facility.

The assistant city jail warden said that they have temporarily stopped accepting inmates in the Quezon City Jail male dorm and the inmates were provided with face masks to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.

The BJMP admitted that it does not have enough doctors in jail facilities to constantly monitor the health of the inmates.

"Kung the situation becomes worse pwede naman 'yan i-request na nila between life and death dinadala na po 'yan without court order dinadala sa ospital," Iral said. —Dona Magsino/LDF, GMA News