CAMP VICENTE LIM, Calamba City — Two jail inmates died of illness this month in Cavite and Rizal provinces, bringing the total of deaths from sickness in detention facilities in the Calabarzon region since January to 54.
Leonardo Manuel, detained at the Bacoor City jail on suspicion of attempted parricide, died July 6 while being treated at the Las Piñas District Hospital where he was rushed due to difficulty in breathing. Dr. Rene Barroga, his attending physician, said Manuel succumbed to multiple organ failure, sepsis and pulmonary tuberculosis.
The next day, Angelito Alday, detained at the Antipolo City jail for attempted homicide, was declared dead on arrival at Antipolo Provincial Hospital, where he was rushed after he collapsed because of difficulty in breathing.
Calabarzon comprises the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon.
Superintendent Chitadel Gaoiran, Police Regional Office 4A spokesperson, blamed the inmate deaths on jail congestion from the increased arrests of drug suspects due to intensified police anti-narcotics operations.
The region’s 283 detention facilities are designed to hold 3,455 inmates. But as of end May 2017, there were 5,059 detainees, 3,562 of them facing drug-related cases.
Of the 54 deaths, 39 were recorded in Cavite; seven in Laguna; five in Rizal; and three in Batangas. None was recorded in Quezon province.
There are 940 detainees in the region diagnosed mostly with respiratory diseases, such as tuberculosis, and skin diseases.
