A sick inmates uses a face mask in the Mandaue City jail after inspection of health personnel during the H1N1 virus scare in July 2009. (CDN PHOTO/ ADOR MAYOL)
In cramped jail cells, disease can easily spread.
Coughing and other respiratory illnesses like rhinitis, sinusitis, running noses and sore throats are prevalent in jails in Central Visayas, according to a report of the PNP Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
In the summer months of March to May, the cases will go up, said senior nurse Abigail Tarona who’s assigned in the Mandaue City Jail Male Dormitory.
“In one day, I usually get up to a hundred requests for medicines,” she said.
“I don’t have the exact figures but I’m certain that most of our inmates here are sick.”
Inmates also suffer from hypertension, headaches, arthritis, diarrhea, asthma, migraine, fever, and scabies, a skin condition that causes severe itching due to the presence of tiny mites.
At least 11 prisoners were diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB), a highly infectious bacterial disease that affects the lungs.
These inmates are isolated in a separate room while undergoing treatment, Tarona said.
“Diseases easily spread among inmates. What I usually do is to immediately isolate those who show symptoms of a serious infectious disease,” she said.
Across Cebu, 113 prisoners from different BJMP-run detention facilities are being treated for tuberculosis. There are ten others sick with TB in Negros Oriental’s seven detention facilities and six others in Bohol’s five jails.
In contrast, the BJMP has only one doctor supervising all 35 jails in Central Visayas.
Tarona has two or three nurses assisting her.
In emergency situations, the court has authorized Tarona to immediately bring a sick inmate to the hospital.
Otherwise, those who need to have a medical check up or surgery have to first seek permission from the court.
“In as much as we want to treat their diseases, all we can do is provide sick inmates with medicines and care. But when it comes to surgery, they really need to be brought to the hospital,” Tarona said.
The BJMP has no budget for medical expenses of inmates who need to undergo an operation.
Sometimes, detainees with the help of jail officers in Mandaue, would chip in to donate cash for inmates who badly need medical attention, she said.
“We have sick inmates who don’t even have visitors from the time they arrived here so I serve as a member of their family,” she said.
A BJMP report described its health service set-up as “solely reactive and inadequate for future contingencies.
The number of health professionals in the jail service as well as the inmates’ access to health services is “limited”.
There are no regular physical examinations for inmates.
NOT ENOUGH BUDGET
The annual budget of the BJMP isn’t enough to improve the conditions in the jail, said Supt. Jessie Calumpang, the acting regional chief of staff of the BJMP Cebu Province.
“We are actually not ready for the surge in jail population. Yes, we are given a budget by the government but it’s definitely not enough to feed the inmates. All we can do is to maximize the minimum,” he said.
For 2015, the BJMP’s annual budget in Central Visayas is P246,523,249.93.
As in previous years, 90 percent of the amount is spent for the food of 8,853 inmates in 35 BJMP-run facilities in the region.
The balance is used to buy medicines for the inmates, repair and maintenance of jail facilities, and for the training of jail officers.
The budget is released every three months.
“In a quarter, we always fall short of the budget by about a million pesos. That’s why, we keep asking for additional funds in order to provide for the inmates’ needs,” said Senior Jail Officer 3 Ma. Roselle Escaño, head of the program development division and community relations officer of BJMP 7.
Diabetic inmate Brenda Pitogo, 64 grimaces as she walks down the hallway of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center assisted by another inmate. She lost her vision since she didn’t receive treatment. (CDN PHOTO/ ADOR MAYOL)
This is reflected in the staffing as well.
As of March 2015, Central Visayas has 881 BJMP personnel, far from the ideal of 1,379 for custodial services of inmates.
DOUBLE WHAMMY
As the region struggles with a rising jail population, it has transformed prison cells into sick beds.
Inmate Abraham Bolombao, 64, has been confined at the infirmary of the Mandaue City Jail for three years due to a hernia.
It hurts especially when he coughs, said Bolambao who is facing trial on a charge of homicide.
Recently, he was advised to have an operation since the circulation in his legs and feet has been affected.
Bolambao was arrested after he killed a man while he was guarding a vacant lot in Mandaue City in 2012. He said the man tried to attack him and that he acted in self defense.
He’s hoping he will be released from detention soon.
“Matud pa nila, makagawas man gani ang sardinas gikan sa lata. (As they say, even sardines can eventually get out of the can),” he quipped.
At the Cebu provincial jail in barangay Kalunasan, Cebu city, inmate 64-year-old Brenda Pitogo laments the slow pace of justice.
The Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) is the only jail facility not run by the BJMP in the region. Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III is the official jailer.
In the past seven years, Pitogo’s case was heard in court only twice. The next court hearing is scheduled in August.
The 64-year-old mother from Danao City was arrested for allegedly selling shabu in Danao City in 2008.
Due to complications of diabetes, Pitogo gradually lost her eyesight. She became totally blind last year. Her swollen feet make it difficult to walk.
In order to move around, two other female inmates have to assist her.
“Gusto na gyud ko mopauli sa amoa. Lain ra gyud kon atong kadugo ang moatiman nato. (I really want to go home. It’s very different if you’re being taken care of by a relative),” she said as tears fell from her eyes.
“Hinaut pa unta, maluoy sila nako. Ila na unta ko palayaon kay gimingaw na kaayo ko sa akong pamilya.”
(I hope, they take pity on me and let me go home because I really miss my family).
Jail authorities give her pain relievers but when the medicine runs of stock, Pitogo has to endure the pain.
“Usahay mawad-an na gyud ko sa paglaum. (Sometimes, I start to lose hope),” said Pitogo who has six children.
PART 1: Mandaue city jail: Most congested in Central Visayas with over 1,000 excess inmates
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