KARAPATAN assailed the Bureau of Corrections’ (BuCor) permanent ban of Kapatid spokesperson Fides Lim from visiting prison camps under its jurisdiction, saying it violates human rights standards set under a domestic law in the Philippines and the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
“Considering that, by its own admission, the Bureau of Corrections does not have the resources to provide adequate and nutritious food as well as other needs to the ‘persons deprived of liberty’ (PDLs) in their custody, it is both unconscionable and counter-productive for the BuCor to impose a permanent ban on Fides Lim who has been providing humanitarian aid, including food, medicines and other supplies for political prisoners,” said KARAPATAN secretary general Cristina Palabay.
KARAPATAN said that the Commission on Human Rights has worked with Kapatid on multiple issues regarding prison conditions and rights of political prisoners and their families since its establishment in 2019. Under Republic Act No. 7438 or the law defining rights of persons arrested, detained or under custodial investigation, those detained are accorded visitation rights from non-governmental organizations, including those accredited by the CHR.
The UN rules also recognizes rights to adequate food, medical care and other basic rights, including prisoners’ rights to receive visitors.
KARAPATAN said that the BuCor’s ban also underscores the violation of Lim’s right to seek redress without fear of reprisal, especially as she raised concerns regarding the policy and practice of strip search of prisoners’ visitors, denial of entry of food and other supplies, and provision of legal assistance to political prisoners in BuCor facilities in Metro Manila.
“The ban on Fides Lim is detrimental to the interests of the political prisoners and the other PDLs she has been servicing, and must be lifted forthwith for their sake,” Palabay said.