The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) maintained that there is no outbreak of scabies in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) and in its other prison and penal farms across the country.
This came after the political prisoner support group Kapatid urged BuCor to allow the immediate delivery of medicines and to implement treatment and sanitation campaigns for persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).
According to Kapatid, based on their recent visits, skin infections appear to be spreading quickly at the Reception and Diagnostic Center of the NBP amid severe overcrowding and lack of water.
However, BuCor Acting Director for Health and Welfare Services Ma. Cecilia Villanueva said it has been two years since the last recorded case of scabies.
She also noted that the International Committee of the Red Cross, together with BuCor, is promoting an activity called “Alis Galis.”
Villanueva also assured the public and the families of PDLs that the agency is capable of addressing any health-related issues that may arise inside correctional facilities.
