Visit us, NBP inmates beg Pope

By: Tina G. Santos - 10 years ago

New Bilibid Prison (NBP) Muntinlupa City. INQUIRER PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines–Inmates at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) want Pope Francis to visit them during his trip to the Philippines in January next year to share with him “how God’s eternal grace transforms sinners like us.”

With the help of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines–Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care (CBCP-ECPPC), the inmates sent a three-page letter, dated Sept. 26, to the Pope through Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto, papal nuncio to the Philippines. It was signed by leaders of different inmate groups in the Muntinlupa City facility.

“We would like to share with you how God’s eternal grace transforms sinners like us. It will be a great blessing for us to have Christ’s disciple and our Father here in our midst, to give us and many other prisoners, strength and an unwavering hope in God’s love and forgiveness,” the inmates said in the letter.

“We know that it is impossible to happen, but we are taking our chance of inviting you our beloved Father, to please visit us here in prisons,” they said.

“We hope and pray that as you continue God’s mission of loving all his children and inspiring them, you will give us a few minutes of your most precious time during your visit here in January 2015,” they added.

The Pope is scheduled to visit the Philippines from Jan. 15 to 19 and is traveling to Tacloban City to be with victims of Super Typhoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan). The Vatican is expected to announce his full itinerary by the end of the year.

If Francis is unable to visit the NBP, a Vatican envoy or representative will be enough, said Rodolfo Diamante, CBCP-ECPPC executive secretary. “It’s as good as the Pope,” he added.

One of the highlights of Francis’ first year at the helm of the Roman Catholic Church was the washing of the feet of 12 young offenders at a Rome prison in observance of an Easter ritual inspired by Christ washing the feet of his apostles.

“Whoever is the most high up must be at the service of others,” he said. “I do this with all my heart because it is my duty as a priest, as a bishop. I have to be at your service.”

Also on Tuesday, the CBCP appealed to President Aquino to grant executive clemency to “visitorless,” indigent, sick and old (Viso) inmates for humanitarian reasons.

Many of these inmates and their families have been enduring the effect of incarceration for years, especially those who are ailing, said Bishop Leopoldo Tumulak, chair of the CBCP-ECPPC.

The prelate called on President Aquino to finally grant the plea of the Board of Pardons and Parole for the said inmates in the seven national prisons under the Bureau of Corrections as a humanitarian act. The board oversees 400 Viso inmates, yet has recommended only 40 cases for executive clemency, according to the ECPPC.

The prison ministry also lamented how many of the country’s prisoners have been locked inside overcrowded facilities for years without any conviction.

The ECPPC said only 35 percent of the 114,368 inmates under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the Bureau of Correction were actually found guilty of crimes and were serving their sentences and the remaining 65 percent were only charged but have never been convicted.

“They are detained because their alleged crimes are not bailable or they can’t afford to pay the bail,” Diamante said.

He reiterated that the slow judicial process for jail inmates remained a major challenge which, in turn, resulted in prison congestion.

He said that the “grossly deficient” facilities in national prisons and various jails further give rise to the “subhuman” conditions of prisoners.