Manila (Philippines), 15 July 2024 - An ex-prisoner in the Philippines who was released from incarceration as a result of a UN-supported government programme to decongest overcrowding in detention facilities in the Southeast Asian country has spoken of his joy of ‘sleeping and eating’ as a free man.
According to government figures, facilities are accommodating four times the original planned capacity making the Philippines one of the most overcrowded penal systems in the world alongside countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti and Uganda.
But now the government, with the support of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is trying to ease the congestion by prioritizing, amongst others, the release of elderly prisoners.
Toto Aquino, who is 70 years old, spoke to UN News’ Daniel Dickinson at his home in the Pandacan neighbourhood of the capital city, Manila.
“I was released two weeks ago and I feel good. I was incarcerated for eight years, four years in pre-trail detention at Manila City Jail and, four years after I was convicted, in Bilibid prison. It was very crowded and I slept on a piece of cardboard in a corridor in Bilibid during those four years. I was housed in a maximum-security wing, 4C-2, alongside members of a gang, but I was not a gang member myself. There is a hierarchy in gangs and this is why I did not have a good place to sleep.
It feels good to be free! I am living with my younger brother in the house that I grew up in with my five siblings. Life is very different now as I can eat and sleep when I want. I have a comfortable bed and my own room and my brother cooks good food.
In prison, I dreamt of chicken adobo [Filipino chicken stew] and a soft mattress and today I have both of these things; sleeping and eating is now my joy.
Since I was released from prison I have stayed at home. I am comfortable here. I sit on a stool on my doorstep and watch the neighbourhood. I grew up here, so I know my neighbours. I sometimes sweep the yard and burn the rubbish and I also continue to do 15 press-ups several times a day, which I started in prison to keep fit.
I have not seen my daughter for ten years. She lives in another part of the country and I hope to see her soon as she is pregnant with her second child.
I think it is important for convicted people to serve their sentences, but I also think the release of old people like me should be prioritized. I was released with other elderly prisoners, but I know men who are 75-years old and who are still being held.”
Click here to see more photos of Toto’s home and Manila City Jail.
Click here to see photos of the new Marawi City Jail.
Click here to learn more about UNODC’s work on prison management in the region.
Click here to learn more about Nelson Mandela International Day.
