Department of Justice (DOJ) Undersecretary Markk Perete said that the agency is already coordinating with the Department of Public Works and Highways to build a bigger quarantine area at NBP just in case there is a need for it.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 23) — A male inmate at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City has contracted the coronavirus disease, the Bureau of Corrections confirmed on Thursday.
The detainee has been admitted at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa City since Friday, the BuCor said in a statement.
The bureau said it was able to trace 40 contacts of the infected prisoner, all of whom are inmates. Those exposed were brought to an isolation facility, “where they will be monitored more effectively while awaiting to be tested for COVID-19.”
Both the Quezon City Jail and the Correctional Institution for Women have previously reported COVID-19 outbreaks within their wards.
A petition for the early release of prisoners deemed highly vulnerable to the disease is pending before the Supreme Court, as human rights groups deem detention cells as “ticking time bombs” for infections.
Perete added that the Department of Health has already committed an initial 10,000 test kits for persons deprived of liberty. The first batch of testing will be conducted at NBP and CIW, he said.
Moreover, DOJ assured residents nearby NBP and the Muntinlupa City government that all precautions and protocols were complied with in the transportation of COVID-19 inmates from CIW to the quarantine facility inside the national penitentiary.
The city’s local government recently protested against the transfer of inmates citing that officials were not informed about it.
Perete said that BuCor officials tried to inform the relevant local official but he cannot be reached.
