Kapatid demands to allow the immediate delivery of medicines and to “mount a treatment and sanitation campaign to prevent the further spread of disease inside prisons.”

MANILA — The Department of Justice (DOJ) has been asked to allow entry of medicines for scabies, a contagious skin infection, by support group Kapatid after political prisoners show symptoms amid severe overcrowding and water shortage in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).

In a letter dated on March 9, 2026, Kapatid said that it is coursing the request letter to the DOJ as the supervisory department over the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), and for encountering difficulties in allowing even the “simplest humanitarian requests.”

The group visited political prisoner Renan Manlanat and found that he showed rashes across his back and stomach and even spread to his groin, causing itching and discomfort. He reported that he was only given a bottle of Betadine as a remedy.

“We have sent a formal letter to the Department of Justice requesting urgent action on humanitarian concerns affecting several political prisoners, including access to medicines and long-pending transfer requests,” said Fides Lim, spokesperson of Kapatid.

Scabies is most commonly spread by direct, prolonged skin-to-skin contact with a person who has the infection. The national jail congestion in the Philippines remained critically high at 286 percent last October 2025, according to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

Kapatid demands to allow the immediate delivery of medicines and to “mount a treatment and sanitation campaign to prevent the further spread of disease inside prisons.”

Another political prisoner, Joemar Reyes, wrote to Kapatid, saying, “Ma’am, please have me transferred already. There is a crisis here—there is no water. I’m already getting infected with scabies and other illnesses.”

The prescription medicines came from Health Action for Human Rights (HAHR), who also helped the political prisoners from a similar outbreak in a Bicutan detention facility from 2019 to 2020.

“While medical care is the responsibility of NBP, we request that the prescribed medicines be allowed to reach them without delay as they are already experiencing severe discomfort and distress,” the letter read.

Rule 24 of the Nelson Mandela Rules, the international standard crafted by the United Nations (UN) for the minimum rules for the treatment of persons deprived of liberty (PDL), stipulates that health care for the PDLs is a responsibility of the government.

“Prisoners should enjoy the same standards of health care that are available in the community, and should have access to necessary health-care services free of charge without discrimination on the grounds of their legal status,” the rule stated.

NBP’s jail congestion rate is even higher than the national average: 387 percent. It only has a capacity of more than 5,000 people but is currently housing close to 22,000 PDL, the Senatereported. (RTS, RVO)

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