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QUARANTINE. Staff from the Office of Corrections (BuCor) transferred a batch of 27 new coronavirus-infected correctional inmates to the New Bilibid Prison quarantine center on April 25, 2020. Photo courtesy of BuCor
MANILA, Philippines – There are now 117 confirmed cases of coronavirus among those convicted at the Corrections Office (BuCor) prison facility, the Justice Department said Friday, May 15.
Deputy Attorney General Markk Perete told reporters on Friday, May 14, that 40 convicts from New Bilibid Prisons and 77 convicts from the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) tested positive for the coronavirus, for a total of 117.
The latest number of cases is double the 58 cases that BuCor posted on its Facebook page on May 7.
Perete said that of the 117 coronavirus cases, at least 9 recovered and 4 died.
Correctional convicts who tested positive for the coronavirus were taken to the Harry Site isolation facility within the Bilibid facility in Muntinlupa, a move criticized by Muntinlupa Mayor Jaime Fresnedi for alleged lack of coordination and for putting at risk to their constituents.
Perete said the inmates would be transferred to CIW in Mandaluyong.
“Incidentally, following the increase in the CIW quarantine facility, PDLs from that facility previously brought to Site Harry will be returned to Mandaluyong where they will continue their quarantine / isolation,” said Perete.
A source told Rappler that the correctional prisoners in question were being held in an abandoned school in Muntinlupa, a building in poor condition, and not in the facilities shown in the media. Site Harry’s facilities were built with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Wanted for comment, Perete said: “The school building is part of the Harry site jackdaw (they said).”
“We are reviewing the condition in that building to verify the complaint,” Perete added.
BuCor and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have yet to respond to media questions about the total number of deaths within Bilibid, regardless of cause, as concerns are mounting over the condition of inmates at the national penitentiary. .
Previously, Perete confirmed the case of an inmate who died as a coronavirus suspect, but who was never subjected to a coronavirus swab.
Subsequent follow-ups, with more names and more deaths, have received no response. – Rappler.com
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