Freedom and Death Inside the Jail.pdf - The Action Program for ...

is because of budgetary constraints or mismanagement. They say
that not only do jail employees take part in the food ration, the
latter also get their share bigger and better prepared, complete
with condiments. Apparently, Quezon City Jail needs a competent
and creative nutritionist who can design a menu that addresses
the nutritional needs of the inmates (and employees) without
exceeding the budget allocated by the national government.
When inmates get sick, they should be given proper medical
treatment and not just wait for their illness to worsen and kill
them. Perhaps there is a need for the creation of a BJMP hospital,
similar to those of the Philippine National Police and the Armed
Forces of the Philippines. At present, inmates are brought to
government hospitals like the East Avenue Medical Center.
There is also a need for programs that can help inmates adjust
to life inside the Jail. One such program could be group therapy,
which would give inmates a venue to freely talk about their
problems, listen to one another, and even give one another pieces
of advice. Specifically, the Jail could put up a Therapeutic Community
(TC), where inmates are taught to consider each other as
members of one family. The TC program is participatory in nature
and it promotes restorative justice by encouraging inmates to take
responsibility for their actions. The program puts the cell at the
center of the reformation efforts and the fellow inmates are key
partners in building a community of mutual support and understanding.
TC maximizes the talents and skills of the inmates who
are given work assignments to keep them busy and preoccupied.
It also promotes leadership by giving an inmate opportunity to
delegate work to his fellow inmates. Finally, TC is anchored on
a merit system wherein inmates who exhibit good behavior are
commended and those who do not are immediately corrected.
There must also be a humane way of punishing erring inmates -
one that is non-corporal and has a redeeming value. A counseling
session should accompany the implementation of a punishment.
But, first, there has to be a disciplinary board that will determine
whether or not an inmate is guilty of a certain misdemeanor. If
guilty, the inmate is sent to an isolation cell (complete with a
bed bunk and beddings) and his visitation privileges are revoked
temporarily.
Jail Personnel
Toward a Reformative Penal System
The Quezon City Jail’s 126 personnel are simply inadequate
vis-à-vis the 3,200 inmates under their charge. The ratio between
custodial officers and inmates, for example, is alarmingly 50 percent
off the ideal mark set by the BJMP Manual. This means that
75 custodial officers more are needed for the Jail to effectively
enforce security and order in the cells.
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