Congestion rate in Metro Manila jails 1000% - BJMP chief

MANILA, Philippines - Jails in Metro Manila are congested by almost 1000 percent, the head of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) disclosed Tuesday. BJMP head Dir. Rosendo Dial told a Senate budget hearing that the bulk of the P4.15-billion budget the BJMP is seeking will go to building jail facilities in Metro Manila. "In Metro Manila it is 1000% overcrowding. That is where the bulk of the infrastructure is proposed," Dial said when asked by Sen. Panfilo Lacson about the congestion rate in jails. He said this means that some 10 inmates will have to squeeze in to fit every square meter. The nationwide congestion rate is much "looser" at 225 percent congestion or an average of four to five inmates per square meter, he said. Dial said the figures were based on the ideal ratio of three square meters for every one inmate. He said the BJMP is now building three additional district jails mainly in the urban areas. For his part, administration senator Juan Miguel Zubiri remarked the hellish congestion should be made a deterrent against crime. "That should be the PR campaign of the (DILG secretary) to deter crime. He should allow media to interview these inmates to show they are in a living hell in this prison camp. That's enough to deter crime I think, the crime rate will go down," he said. - GMANews.TV