Less ‘sleeping like sardines’ as Philippines adopts Nelson Mandela Rules for prisons
The Nelson Mandela’s rule, which Named after the former South African president who was unjustly imprisoned for 27 years, is playing a key role in prison and penal reform in the Philippines.
Front Nelson Mandela International Day Held annually on July 18, here’s what you need to know about the Regulations and what’s being done to implement them.
Humane treatment
These Regulations aim to ensure that all prisoners are treated with respect and dignity and are not discriminated against. The environment in which these prisoners are housed is central to this requirement.
The Philippines ranks alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti and Uganda in prison overcrowding, with inmates living in cramped and chronically overcrowded facilities.
Inmates live in cramped conditions at the Manila City Jail.
At the Manila City Jail, about 3,200 men are held in a facility that can accommodate 1,200, where men “sleep like sardines,” according to Supreme Court Justice Maria Filomena Singh, a situation she described as “inhumane.”
The prison, which houses mainly pre-trial detainees, was built in 1867. Temperatures in the crowded dormitories can reach 40 degrees Celsius and therefore do not meet the Regulations’ requirements for “due attention to climatic conditions and in particular to air volume, minimum floor space, lighting, heating and ventilation”.
Health care
While the Manila City Jail is emblematic of what needs to change in the Philippines, other prisons are also making progress, especially in terms of health care, the focus of which is that “prisoners shall enjoy the same standards of health care as those in the community and shall have access to necessary health care services free of charge without discrimination based on their legal status.”
A woman receives health counseling at the Iligan City Jail.
Safety and dignity
Maintaining safe and secure conditions for both prisoners and prison staff – as well as implementing disciplinary measures that respect human dignity and avoid torture or other forms of inhuman treatment – are other important elements of the Nelson Mandela Rules.
The new Marawi City Jail sits on a hill overlooking the city and the mountains beyond.
The Philippines’ newest prison, the Marawi City Jail in Mindanao, was built under the Code and opened in May 2024. It replaces the city’s old jail that was destroyed during a five-month rebellion by Muslim rebels in 2017.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as the official administrator of the Regulation, provided technical assistance to the Bureau of Prisons and Penology in establishing appropriate conditions for the new facility, including reviewing infrastructure design, establishing a library, security training, and inmate assessments.
The Marawi City Jail is set to open on the island of Mindanao in May 2024.
Education
Prisons are intended to assist inmates in their reintegration into society by providing education, vocational training and other programs, as set out in the Regulations.
Faculty from Mindanao University (MSU) will teach and law school students there will assist prisoners in case management, which could help speed up the proceedings.
Inmates can also consult legal documents in the newly added library, as well as read the Law in Tagalog, one of the most widely spoken languages in the Philippines.
The newly designated court at the facility, which will hold its first hearing at the end of June, will also help to resolve cases more quickly.
The Marawi City Jail library has a large collection of law books.
It is hoped that resolving cases more quickly will prevent prison overcrowding. “The hope is that the number of inmates coming in will equal the number of people leaving,” said Renato Reynaldo Roales, a UNODC Country Programme Officer based in Mindanao.
The first 50 inmates were transferred to the new prison in June and four were released after appearing in court in the prison that same week.
The Marawi City Jail is expected to become a model for modern detention facilities across the Philippines as the country continues to reform its judicial and criminal systems.
More prisoners, both those awaiting trial and those already convicted, will benefit from the introduction of the Nelson Mandela Rules, which follow the principle that “the only thing a prisoner should be deprived of is their liberty,” said UNODC’s Renato Reynaldo Roales.
REALITY BOX
- The Nelson Mandela Rules, officially known as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2015.
- They are widely recognized blueprints for good prison management in the 21st century.
- There are currently 38 countries that have joined the Group of Friends of the Nelson Mandela Rules focused on implementing the Rules. The Philippines joined in 2023.
- UNODC supported the development process and is the custodian of the Code.
- Read more about the Rules This.
