Ailing inmates cramped in isolation room
Some inmates sick with measles sleep on the floor while others rest on hammocks inside the restricted space of the isolation room, the jail lacks infirmary. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Inmate Rolly Recoylo had to walk sideways from his bed across the space left between the wall and a row of wooden beds for an interview with Cebu Daily News.
“We were free to roam around in our regular cells but here, we have to walk sideways,” 25-year-old Recoylo said in Cebuano.
He is one of 35 inmates cramped in an improvised isolation room due to measles.
There is no infirmary in the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) so a row of small cells that used to house hardened criminals served the purpose.
Jail Warden Romeo Manansala said 24 inmates who recovered from measles have returned to their cells. Manansala said he will ask Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III to build an infirmary in the jail to treat sick inmates. “Even if it’s good for 10 people, it’s okay,” he said.
The first inmate who caught measles was sent to to the isolation room last June 14.
Inside, inmates sleep on wooden beds or hammocks.
Recoylo, who has had fever for almost three weeks, said the ailing inmates also had to deal with flies while eating or sleeping because the windows lack screens.
“Since we don’t have a screen, we’ll just make sure these inmates cover their food properly,” Manansala said.
Other inmates who remain healthy worry that they may get sick again if the cells aren’t cleaned up.
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