This photo, taken on March 27, 2020, shows prison inmates sleeping and gesturing in cramped conditions in the crowded courtyard of the Quezon City jail in Manila. (File photo by MARIA TAN / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Despite efforts to decongest the country鈥檚 jails amid the COVID-19 pandemic, facilities of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) still exceed the total ideal capacity by 403 percent.
The Commission on Audit (COA) said this was 鈥渨ay beyond the accepted standards鈥� of the United Nations.
In an audit report on the BJMP, the COA said the number of inmates in the BJMP鈥檚 facilities across the country was at 115,336 as of end-2020.
This is 403 percent above the total ideal capacity of 34,893 inmates, thus affecting the BJMP鈥檚 goal of improving the condition, safekeeping, and development of inmates living in cramped cells.