By Pajo Albano
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Rights group Kapatid is calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate what it describes as politically motivated harassment after Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officials banned spokesperson Fides Lim from visiting the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW).

Lim was prohibited from delivering food to 25-year-old political prisoner Rona Degoso on May 25, despite being allowed to visit her just a month prior.

At the CIW entrance, prison officials displayed a photo of Lim marked “BANNED” without prior notice or due process. “This is not just about food—it is about survival,” Lim said in her July 8 letter to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.

Degoso, newly transferred from Negros Occidental and with no family in Metro Manila, had previously listed Lim in her carpeta to authorize visits.

Kapatid said that the move was not only vindictive but emblematic of a larger pattern of obstructing humanitarian aid to political prisoners. The group stressed that many detainees rely entirely on outside support for food, medicine, and even basic appliances denied by the prison system.

In February, BuCor withheld two rice cookers, two electric fans, and a water dispenser intended for elderly and sick inmates at the New Bilibid Prison Maximum Security Compound.

Despite being requested by prisoners, the appliances were delayed for more than four months under the pretext of “high power consumption.”

Kapatid dismissed the reasoning as unjustifiable, noting that the devices used minimal wattage and were essential during heatwaves and water shortages.

Overcrowding remains a major issue at BuCor facilities, with NBP housing over 25,000 inmates despite a capacity of only 6,000.

Within just 55 days earlier this year, two political prisoners—Rommel Arquillo, 47, and Sonny Tambalque, 65—died of treatable conditions while in custody.

Lim said that the continued obstruction of food delivery and aid risks even more deaths, especially among those already vulnerable. She added that most political detainees are from far provinces and receive no regular assistance from the family or the state. “Our visits are often their only means of receiving help.”

Human dignity under siege 

The United Nations’ Mandela Rules affirm that all persons deprived of liberty must be treated with dignity and shielded from cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment

These rules require prisons to provide basic necessities like adequate food, sanitation, healthcare, lighting, and ventilation without discrimination between types of prisoners. In particular, Rule 50 calls for searches, especially invasive ones, to be conducted with respect for privacy and human dignity, under written regulations aligned with international law.

In 2024, the Philippines formally endorsed the Mandela Rules and partnered with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to improve prison conditions, including efforts to reduce overcrowding.

Despite this commitment, rights groups said that recent policies contradict the spirit of the Mandela Rules. BuCor’s actions toward Lim, as well as its continued prohibition of aid and basic appliances, amount to degrading treatment in violation of Rule 1.

The public posting of Lim’s photo labeled “BANNED” also raises concerns under Rule 61 which protects the right of prisoners and their supporters to seek legal remedies without fear of retaliation.

Earlier this year, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) flagged systemic neglect in jail facilities and warned of possible disease outbreaks. The CHR also intervened in BuCor’s 2024 policy requiring strip searches of all visitors, following allegations of abuse.

As of this writing, BuCor has not issued a statement regarding the ban on Lim. “I am not a criminal, much less a trafficker of contraband,” Lim wrote. “My sole purpose is to assist political prisoners—most of whom have been rendered invisible—and to help uphold their right to survive with dignity.” (AMU, DAA)