DOJ sets new protocol on probe of inmates’ deaths

THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has inked an agreement with the University of the Philippines – Manila system and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)) for a new protocol on the investigation of inmates’ deaths inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City and the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the agreement seeks to strengthen the current procedures.

Remulla, UP Manila Chancellor Michael Tee and UNODC Programme Office in the Philippines Country Manager Daniele Marchesi spearheaded the signing for their respective institutions.

It was Remulla’s first public event in the DOJ since March this year.

Under the agreement, inmates who died inside the NBP and the CIW would undergo forensic examination at UP Manila first before their bodies are taken to funeral parlors for embalming.

UP will provide technical expertise in the determination of the death by carrying out autopsies on the bodies of deceased inmates in accordance with international standards.

The UNODC, on the other hand, will provide vital technical assistance and normative support to make sure that collaborative efforts are maintained.

“Our collaborative efforts with UP and the UNODC will be vital in ensuring that even our dead Persons Deprived of Liberty will be given justice, dignity, humane treatment and respect,” Remulla said.

DOJ Undersecretary Jesse Andres said the new protocol would enable authorities to know the exact cause of the death of an inmate.

“Instead of bringing them straight to the funeral parlor for embalming they will have to be brought first to UP Manila for forensic examination or autopsy before they would be eventually transferred to a funeral parlor for embalming,” Andres told reporters in a press briefing.

“In that way, there will be a process by which we would establish the true cause of death,” he added.

He said that by knowing the exact cause of the inmates’ demise, the DOJ and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) would be able to prevent its causes as well as build health facilities to ensure the care of inmates.

Forensic pathologist Dr.Raquel Fortun said the new protocol should be