(Eagle News)–The Supreme Court on Friday, April 17, ordered jail authorities to comment on the petition of 22 detainees who are seeking their temporary freedom amid the COVID-19 crisis.
The 15 justices ordered the respondents to file their comment to the petition filed by the group led by National Democratic Front consultant Vicente Ladlad by April 24.
The group of detainees had asked they be freed temporarily on bail or on recognizance, citing what they said were their old age, other existing medical conditions and the prison conditions that made them vulnerable to COVID-19.
The SC order was made during the SC’s first-ever online en banc session.
“The period is non-extendible,” the SC said.
The SC also ordered the respondents to “take the necessary interim preventive measures required by this national emergency and provide a verified report to the court within the same period.”
Earlier, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology reported nine Quezon City jail inmates and nine BJMP personnel had tested positive for COVID-19.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government urged local government units to include jail facilities in their conduct of COVID-19 tests to help the BJMP.
