It’s really not humane, Philippines Supreme Court Justice Maria Filomena Singh says of the country’s prisons, which are severely overcrowded. In Manila City Jail, for example, some 200 male prisoners sleep on the floor of their dorm without even enough space to lie on their backs. Work is now underway to improve conditions, notably in Marawi, the scene of a siege in 2017 that started in the city jail. There, a new facility has been built in cooperation with the United Nations to conform with the Nelson Mandela Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. At the same time, Justice Singh and others emphasize that better facilities treat only the effects of the problem; overcrowding is at its root. A UN-supported government programme is reforming the system with the aim of reducing incarceration levels and promoting early release where applicable. Daniele Marchesi, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Country Manager in the Philippines, calls for having fewer people incarcerated for minor offences, instead employing the health system for those who use drugs and are not connected to trafficking. This is both more humane and more economical, he points out.
