Political prisoner advocate group Kapatid on Monday slammed the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) for performing “degrading and traumatizing” strip searches on the wives of political prisoners on April 21.
Despite the families of political prisoners not being linked with illegal drugs or contraband, wardens from the NBP insisted on performing the strip search due to “orders from above,” Kapatid said in a press release.
“The humiliating experience of the wives of political prisoners needs to be investigated for outright violations of international and national laws governing the treatment of prisoners and visitors and violence against women as well as for brazen harassment,” said Fides Lim, spokesperson of Kapatid.
Kapatid reported at least three instances of body searches performed by the NBP. The two recent incidents occurred at the visiting area of the NBP Maximum Security Compound, with NBP’s Inmate Visitation Service Unit performing body cavity searches on multiple victims including a senior citizen.
While visitors sign a waiver allowing the NBP to perform inspections before they can enter the jail compound, Kapatid said that the procedure should only be done when absolutely necessary, and its regular use by the NBP is a violation of international standards.
“Ang ganitong pinagawa sa akin ng [NBP] ay hindi ko matanggap. Talagang masakit sa dibdib ... Pakiramdam ko, tinapak-tapakan ang pagkatao ko, ang dignidad ko bilang tao na ito na lang ang meron ako,” read the statement of Gloria Almonte, wife of Dionisio Almonte who is a political prisoner at the NBP.
The victims have since filed a formal complaint to the Commission on Human Rights on Monday, joined by Kapatid ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro and Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas.
Aside from the dehumanization of their families, political prisoners are also subjected to inhumane conditions in ill-maintained prisons.
Under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s term, the percentage of arrests leading to imprisonment has increased. There are currently 786 political prisoners in the country since February 2024, with 96 being sickly and 94 being elderly, according to human rights group Karapatan.
“Kung maaari po sana ang katulad kong asawa, kamag-anak at kaibigan ng political prisoners ay hindi na kailangang dumaan sa ganitong klase ng body searching. Dahil hindi naman kami nasasangkot sa pagpapasok ng anumang illegal o kontrabando,” Almonte said. ●
