eng - World Organisation Against Torture

impossible all together. They have to take itin shifts to lie down. The heat and humidheat is unbearable and the only respite is anelectric fan. These are in short supply whenthere are 90 men crowded in a space good fortwenty. They are malnourished and havered blotches of skin diseases, which areprone to infection. Cholera and typhoid isanother deadly danger they all face besidestuberculosis and HIV-AIDS. The only foodallowance for is 50 cents a day, but the weakdo not get a fair share. 43Mandaluyong City Jail (Metro Manila): 873prisoners are detained in this prison althoughthe facilities are only good for 200 inmates.The jail consists of 5 cells of which one forminors, in which 37 children were detained.Guards restricted access to the prison.However, Preda reports that the conditionsseem similar to those of the above-describedjails. 44See Annex 1 for Sample Case StudiesDocumented by PREDA.for Assistance, Rehabilitation andEmpowerment (OCARE) was a project ofRichard and Kate Gordon. Olongapo Citywon the award for the most-child friendly cityof the Philippines in 2000 and 2002.In February 2003 Swedish student researchersvisited OCARE and interviewed18 street children in Olongapo City and describedinhuman and degrading conditionsof detention, particularly the existence of secretcells where children between 8 and 15were frequently locked up and mistreated.After the issue was highlighted in a report onthe Philippines to the Human RightsCommittee 45 , the Filipino government undertookaction to change the appalling situation.The cells were cleaned for severalmonths, no further detention of children wasreported. However the detention centre isnow in the Olongapo City Jail. This was analternative arrangement made by the city administrationOlongapo City by the thenSecret Cells for Children: Documented Case ofAbuses in a Government CentreEstablished in 1998, the Olongapo Centre4743 - From the Streets to the Jails, Street children victims ofprison torture, by Fr. Shay Cullend and Francis Bermido,Preda Foundation Philippines, November 2004.44 - From the Streets to the Jails, Street children victims ofprison torture, by Fr. Shay Cullen and Francis Bermido,Preda Foundation Philippines, November 2004.45 - State Violence in the Philippines. An alternative report tothe United Nations Human Rights Committee, OMCT,January 2004, p.95.