THE assurance issued by Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla — that former Senator Bong Revilla would not be accorded with special privileges while in detention, is no more than lip service, says detainee rights advocacy group Kapatid.
In a statement, Kapatid called on the immediate transfer of Revilla to an ordinary jail cell, where other accused officials in the flood control controversy are being held.
Revilla was transferred to the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas in compliance with the order issued by the Sandiganbayan Third Division, which would litigate criminal charges filed against the former senator over allegations of pocketing millions in public funds intended for flood mitigation projects in Bulacan.
“The former senator’s current detention arrangement sends a dangerous signal: the law bends for the powerful while the poor bear its full force,” reads part of the group’s public statement.
“Revilla’s detention quarters constitute VIP — Very Important Prisoner — treatment in a sea of suffering. This is detention by privilege, not by law. The corrupt are literally cushioned, even provided with mattresses, while the poor and political prisoners endure overcrowded jails in the most inhumane conditions,” Kapatid spokesperson Fides Lim said on Wednesday.
Under the standard health protocols for new detainees, Revilla will undergo a seven-day quarantine. After completion of the quarantine period, only then would Revilla be taken to the detention cell of seven DPWH officials in Mimaropa, who were also put behind bars in connection with an allegedly anomalous flood control project in Oriental Mindoro.
However, such an arrangement doesn’t sit well with Kapatid, insisting that such is in contrast to what it described as “inhumane conditions endured by the majority of persons deprived of liberty (PDL), especially political prisoners and the poor.”
“Across BJMP and Bureau of Corrections facilities, jail congestion routinely exceeds 300 percent, forcing inmates to sleep in shifts, survive on inadequate food and medical care, and endure unsanitary conditions due to lack of running water, compounded by unreasonable restrictions on food brought by families,” the group noted.
“Families and Kapatid often see their pleas for medical transfers or release ignored or denied, even for political prisoners who are seriously ill or have completed their sentences, while others are sent to remote penal colonies that cut them off from legal counsel and family support,” it stressed.
The group called on the BJMP to walk its talk — “BJMP’s statement that no VIP treatment should also be reflected in actual detentions.”
“Equal justice means equal conditions. Revilla and other corrupt accused should be held in the same ordinary, congested cells as everyone else. The fact that they are government officials—and repeat offenders—makes their crime even worse. They should feel the full weight of the law, not enjoy special treatment,” Lim said.
Revilla’s camp has appealed to the Sandiganbayan for his transfer of custody to the Philippine National Police custodial center in Camp Crame.
I also think this is unjust. Let all violators of the laws face the same penalty, no special treatment. Otherwise, let us forget about impartiality, human rights and justice for all. these are mere slogans mouthed by those in power.