By Anthony Giron Are police jails in Cavite safe from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)? This question was raised on Friday, May 8, by observers after another person under police custody (PUPC) or inmate in Bacoor City reportedly died in a hospital, a day after complaining of difficulty in breathing while in jail. Oscar Pabillo Bolias, 58, was the latest PUPC fatality in Bacoor and the seventh in Cavite province who succumbed to illness since the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At least four PUPC deaths have been reported in Bacoor, two in Dasmariñas City, and one each in the municipalities of General Mariano Alvarez (GMA) and Kawit. A report from the Cavite Police Provincial Office (PPO) showed that the lifeless Bolias will still be subjected to swab test to determine if the cause of his death was COVID-19-related. Police reported that Bolias, single, a self-employed resident of Panay Gawaran, Barangay Digman, Bacoor, was detained on charges of frustrated murder and Republic Act 10591 violation (illegal possession of firearm and ammunition) last April 17. Corporal Christian M. Jovita, officer-on-case, said Bolias was brought to the Las Piñas Distirct Hospital by duty jail officers on board a city ambulance, after he had difficulty in breathing while in jail at about 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6. Bolias reportedly expired in the hospital at 2:45 a.m. Thursday, May 7 while under watch by an attending doctor. Police have informed the family of Bolias about the incident and his demise. In his report, Jovita said that the death of Bolias remained under investigation. The Cavite PPO has yet to render a report about the causes of recent deaths of the PUPCs and the condition of the police custodial facilities, particularly in the cities of Bacoor, Dasmarinas, and municipalities of GMA and Kawit. Police reports showed that the PUPC deaths transpired in the two cities and municipalities from March 30 to May 7. All seven inmates, reportedly sickly, have succumbed in hospitals after they had difficulty in breathing while in jail. The causes of the PUPC deaths were not immediately known. Cavite PPO reports also showed that scores of PUPCs, mostly from congested custodial facilities, have also died every year, starting in 2015. The PUPC "difficulty in breathing" incidents were noted, particularly during the long, hot summer months of the year.