UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

Our esteemed lawmakers are at this time proposing to build more penal facilities. They cite extreme overcrowding in our jails and even quote the UN minimum standards for detention facilities and 1987 Constitution,  which “vehemently opposes the use of substandard or inadequate penal facilities under subhuman conditions.” We also hold the dubious world record for “the most overcrowded prison system in the world,” per the World Prison Brief. But is building more prisons the ideal solution? Was there an analysis done on root cause/s? Certainly, the congressmen have staff, legal or otherwise, who should be presenting them with such reviews on the hows and whys of a certain issue, and how it can be approached from a lawmaker’s standpoint. Instead, they are proposing what appears to be a knee-jerk solution. Too many prisoners and few jails? Build more jails! Not too fast, gentlemen. According to the World Prison Brief, 75.1 percent of incarcerations in the Philippines, or 141,422 out of 188,278 prisoners are pre-trial detainees, whose average time spent in jail is nine months without a sentence! That shocking fact alone will tell us that this is one of the root causes of prison overcrowding, and any new jails built will quickly end up  full of prisoners too if this continues to happen. What will happen is we, the taxpayers, end up paying for building more prisons. Part of the funding will  probably end up as kickbacks. Once they are filled up, they will build more prisons, and the vicious cycle goes on. Perhaps, a congressional investigation in aid of legislation should be conducted and,  an in-depth discussion can reveal the reasons for the overcrowding. There must be many resource persons available for this issue. Here are a few pointers for starters. Justice delayed is justice denied. This is a failure of our justice system. The Supreme Court should hasten the trial process. For those charged with petty crimes, set a deadline for resolution and stick with it. Many have been in jail long enough to have served the time required for a conviction and should be released on their own recognizance for having served time but without being labeled “convicts.” They can still be productive members of society by doing community service while starting to be reintegrated into society. Those who are frail and elderly should be discharged to hospitals for humanitarian reasons. Are our penal laws in need of revisions? That can certainly be a fertile field for resolving justice issues in the legislative chambers. How about acting on the pending bill decriminalizing marijuana? Recreational drug use should be viewed as a social and medical issue. We’re not talking about medical cannabis, which I feel should be a no-brainer for our legislators, as many progressive countries have already done so. Legalizing recreational marijuana will decrease the number of detainees in our jails and will add to the government coffers through taxes and permits. The proceeds should be dedicated to the rehabilitation of drug addicts who should be in rehabilitation centers rather than jails. A provision that all past marijuana convictions will be pardoned or reversed can immediately reduce our prison population to a certain extent. Incidentally, marijuana is not considered an addictive substance, nor has it been proven to be a gateway drug.  But as with anything, too much use can be harmful to the self. Compared to the nicotine in tobacco, which has no redeeming medical or social features, marijuana at least has beneficial medical uses. It mitigates the side effects (nausea and vomiting) of chemotherapy in cancer patients, relieves chronic pain, aids in battling depression, social anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, and is effective in treating certain epileptic disorders. Yet tobacco is legal to use. Vagrancy, drunkenness, gambling, and other victimless crimes should also be decriminalized, further reducing the number of inmates. With their decriminalization, there will be a corresponding decrease in jail occupancy. With less inmates, conditions will definitely improve immediately. The jail wardens and staff  can concentrate on improving the inmates’ welfare. The cost of imprisonment is immense, since prisons must be built and maintained, and staff have to be hired. With our ballooning national debt, we should not be cavalier with the use of government funds. The prisoners’ upkeep, no matter how minimal, can be better used for other state endeavors. We can ill afford building more mega-prisons, which will cost billions of pesos for construction, maintenance and staffing. Let us repair our broken criminal justice system instead. Truly, it is not the number of prisons that should be increased. Reducing the number of inmates must be acted on with alacrity to improve our penal system and remove an international black-eye on the country.