Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28) — A total of 195 prisoners nationwide have contracted COVID-19, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) bared on Tuesday.
At a virtual House Defeat COVID-19 Committee meeting, BJMP chief Allan Iral said of the 373 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) tested, 195 turned out positive for the coronavirus, with no reported recoveries.
Cebu City Jail has the bulk of the cases with 185, the Quezon City Jail has nine, while one inmate has been infected at the Mandaue City Jail.
Iral also revealed that 38 BJMP personnel have also tested positive for the virus.
“We are targeting mass testing of PDLs and personnel in the compromised BJMP facilities while sustaining efforts to maintain other facilities COVID-19-free,” he said.
Last week, the Supreme Court reminded first and second level courts to fast-track the evaluation of detainees who may be set free based on certain parameters to help decongest jails in the country.
Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez previously issued a circular directing the low-level courts to release accused individuals who have already spent the minimum jail time prescribed in the charges they are facing while waiting for a verdict.
