MANILA — The government has taken the lead in organizing a summit on jail decongestion in Manila. Held Tuesday (05 Dec 2023), the summit is a collaborative effort involving the Supreme Court (SC) and various stakeholders.

The primary objective is to conduct a thorough analysis of the country’s penal system and formulate effective measures to alleviate prison congestion.

As highlighted in the 2022 annual audit report from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), the Commission on Audit (COA) revealed that, among the 478 jail facilities nationwide, a significant 67.57 percent, or 323 facilities, are heavily congested.

These facilities exhibit an alarming occupancy rate of up to 2,739 percent and a congestion rate reaching 2,639 percent.

Visual documentation of the living conditions within the Manila City Jail in Sta. Cruz, Manila, vividly captures the extent of congestion faced by Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL).

The images shown here underscore the urgent need for comprehensive reforms in the country’s penal infrastructure.

(Report and photography by Benjamin Cuaresma/AI/MNM)

By Junex Doronio

KNOWN FOR HER “I INVOKE MY RIGHT TO BE SILENT” line during the Senate investigations on the pork barrel scam, the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan on Friday sentenced businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles to at least 64 years in prison after finding her guilty of four counts each of graft and malversation of public funds.

Voting 3-2, the Special Second Division in its 57-page decision sentenced Napoles to at least 40 years in prison for her four malversation of public funds conviction and some 24 years for her conviction on four counts of graft.

At the same time, Napoles and each of the state-run National Agribusiness Corporation (NABCOR) officials Rhodora Mendoza, Victor Cacal, and Maria Ninez Guañizo were sentenced to spend 10 to 16 years in prison and ordered to pay the government P2.9 million or the amount malversed for their conviction.

It was gathered that the case was in connection with the illegal disbursement of at least P20 million from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), commonly called “pork barrel,” of former South Cotabato Representative Arthur Pingoy.

The Sandiganbayan, however, noted that there is no evidence that Pingoy was involved in the scheme.

(ai/mnm)