Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

March 30, 2024

Philippines: in prison, mother and baby share P85 a day for food, medicine

News

Women Asia Material conditions Philippines

Even with their own ward at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong, women who are pregnant or have recently given birth deal with measly resources.

February 18, 2024

Philippines: the Bureau of Corrections sends 459 prisoners to Iwahig Prison

News

Asia Facilities Overcrowding Philippines

“The transfer of persons deprived of liberty outside of Metro Manila is a stopgap measure in alleviating overcrowding in the New Bilibid Prison,” BuCor said in a statement.

September 18, 2023

Philippines: CHR praises bill meant to make conditions in jails more humane

News

Asia Material conditions Philippines

Commission on Human Rights (CHR) hails a bill that seeks to make conditions inside correctional facilities more humane.

November 10, 2020

Philippines: Supreme Court must "get real" about prison conditions

News

Oceania Access to legal rights Justice Material conditions Philippines

The Supreme Court “threw away the opportunity” to clarify guidelines on how humanitarian considerations can be applied to prisoners.

October 4, 2019

Philippines: more than 5,000 inmates die at this prison every year

News

Asia Philippines

One in five detainees at the Philippines’ national penitentiary die every year, officials at the prison hospital have revealed.

October 3, 2019

Philippines: 5,000 prisoners at NBP die yearly

News

Asia Philippines

At least 5,000 prisoners at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City die every year, said an official from the Bureau of Corrections.

September 15, 2019

Philippines: Lacson wants steps to tackle corruption in Bilibid prison

News

Asia Philippines

Senator Panfilo Lacson wants laws to address corruption and dismantle syndicates at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) as he lamented that high-profile inmates, not government officials, were running the penitentiary. The senator cited reports that some prisoners have become “more powerful” than Bureau o…

September 6, 2019

Philippines: ombudsman to investigate prison officials

News

Asia Philippines

The Office of the Ombudsman has created a team to investigate officials of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to determine their liability in the release of thousands of prisoners.

September 5, 2019

Philippines: Duterte fires Philippines prison chief

News

Asia Philippines

The president fired the government’s top prison official amid outcry over a mass prisoner release.

July 22, 2019

Philippines: 'Worse than prison': Abuses in Philippine youth homes

News

Asia Minors Drugs Violence Philippines

Officially called “Houses of Hope”, proponents in the Philippines say such facilities are places for reformation and education, but critics slam many of them as “hellholes” where children are treated like caged animals.

January 7, 2019

Philippines: where 518 inmates sleep in space for 170, and gangs hold it together

News

Asia Philippines

For some inmates of the Manila City Jail, making the bed means mopping up sludgy puddles, unfolding a square of cardboard on the tile floor and lying down to sleep in a small, windowless bathroom, wedged in among six men and a toilet. On one recent night at the jail, in Dorm 5, the air was thick an…

November 4, 2017

Philippines : un mort lors d'une émeute dans une prison surpeuplée

News

Asia Protest Overcrowding Violence Philippines

This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.

July 17, 2017

Philippines: Three killed, one injured in prison breakout in restive Jolo

News

Asia Protest Violence Philippines

AUTHORITIES in the Philippines said three inmates were killed on Sunday and another was wounded following a prison escape in Jolo, a southern Island notoriously known as a stronghold of Abu Sayyaf militants. According to the South China Morning Post (via the AFP) the dead and wounded were among 14…

July 8, 2017

Jails, justice system at breaking point as Philippine drugs war intensifies

News

Asia Drugs Philippines

In a teeming prison for undertrials in the Philippines’ capital Manila, Rody Lacanilao, an inmate for 18 months, says he prays for clear weather at night.

June 28, 2017

Philippines bill proposes jail time for unenthusiastic anthem singers

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Asia Philippines

(CNN)Philippines citizens may need to start exercising their vocal chords. The country’s House of Representatives has approved a bill requiring members of the public to sing the country’s national anthem, Lupang Hinirang, “with fervor” whenever it is played publicly.

June 17, 2017

Philippines: CoA report shows 511% increase in inmates amid drug war

News

Asia Drugs Philippines

This is a 511% increase in congestion that way exceeds the said ideal cell capacity of 20,746. According to the CoA’s annual report on the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) released on June 15, the total number of inmates was up by 30,544 as of Dec. 31, 2016 from the year before.

June 4, 2017

Philippines: cholera being investigated as cause of prison outbreak

News

Asia Philippines

The New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City is where the Philippines most dangerous criminals are incarcerated has been hit with a suspected foodborne illness outbreak that started on May 26 and where more than 1,200 inmates have become ill.

May 24, 2017

Philippines : face à la menace terroriste, Rodrigo Duterte impose la loi martiale

News

Asia Justice Philippines

This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.

April 26, 2017

Philippines: no resurrection of death penalty at the Senate

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Asia Philippines

The bill seeking to revive the death penalty is already “dead in the Senate.”

April 18, 2017

UNODC to send drug policy advisor to work with Philippine gov't

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Asia Drugs Philippines

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, or UNODC, announced on Monday (17/04) that it will soon post a dedicated drug policy adviser to work with the Philippine government to enact alternative approaches in combating rising narcotics use in the country.

April 7, 2017

Philippines edges closer to death penalty return for serious drug offences

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Asia Drugs Philippines

Philippine lower house lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the re-imposition of capital punishment for serious drug offences on Tuesday, clearing another hurdle in President Rodrigo Duterte’s drive to use death as a deterrent against crime.

March 2, 2017

Naked prisoners in Philippine jail cause uproar

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Asia Philippines

Photos showing hundreds of prisoners in a Philippine jail sitting naked while being searched for contraband have triggered accusations of further rights abuses in President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on drugs.

February 26, 2017

Thirteen escape in prison break near Manila

News

Philippines

At least 13 ‘high-value’ detainees facing drug charges stormed out of Philippine jail by cutting through metal grilles.

February 13, 2017

Philippine bid to jail nine-year-olds is 'a great child violation', Unicef says

News

Asia Philippines

Duterte’s allies have been pushing to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to nine.