'Prison Broke'

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor CEDELF P. TUPAS Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

The daring raid by the New People's Army on the Davao Prison and Penal Farm, where the rebels were able to cart away some 100 firearms, all without firing a single shot, is another grim reminder of the terrible state of our country's penal system. If there was anything positive about the raid, it was the fact that no blood was shed and the rebels were only after the firearms in the prison's armory. Everything else about that raid is another disturbing commentary on the Philippine prison system.

Philippine prisons are among the worst in the world. The one factor that makes our prisons so bad is overcrowding, a problem than can be blamed for almost all of the troubles in prisons all across the archipelago. Overcrowding makes living conditions for the inmates of our prisons almost inhuman. It also severely stresses the ability of the limited support personnel of our prisons, from the administrators to the guards, to effectively carry out their duties. If there is one problem that has to be addressed for the improvement of our prison system, it is overcrowding.

A prison, by design and function, is supposed to be a secure government facility. Armed groups should have a harder time raiding its armory. The ease with which the raid was carried out, and the effortless escape of the raiders, in an area that is supposed to be heavily patrolled by government units, adds to the growing list of prison deficiencies in the country where high profile inmates have been known to waltz out of maximum security facilities and the cellphones, which are supposed to be prohibited in jails, continue to evade routine security checks.

The improvement of our prison facilities remains low on the government's priority list, especially with more pressing problems like widespread poverty and hunger. But, it is a growing concern and it should not be allowed to fester and worsen. The Davao prison raid is just another reminder of the urgency of the situation.*