Gloria Almonte, 63, wife of political prisoner Dionisio Almonte, is one of those who experienced the “degrading and traumatic” strip search at the New Bilibid Prison (NPB) when she opted to visit her husband on April 21, around 1:45 pm.
“This does not only indicate the government’s dire lack of compassion for those imprisoned. [It is also] a clear violation of international human rights norms such as the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners or the Mandela Rule.”
Jail, after all, is not exempt from society’s great divide based on economic and social status. And even here, the movement for freedom and democracy considers our situation as part of the struggle.