Heartwarming Journey: Filipino Elderly Ex-Prisoner’s Pure Joy in ‘Sleeping and Eating’ Rediscovered
According to government reports, the Philippines faces a severe overcrowding issue in its prison system, with inmate numbers soaring to four times the intended capacity. This places the country among the world’s most overcrowded penal systems, alongside nations like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, and Uganda. To alleviate this crisis, the government, in collaboration with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has initiated measures to ease congestion, including the prioritization of releasing elderly prisoners.
One such releasee, 70-year-old Toto Aquino, shared his experience with UN News’ Daniel Dickinson from his home in Manila’s Pandacan neighborhood. Aquino, who was released two weeks ago, had spent eight years in incarceration—four years in pre-trial detention at Manila City Jail and another four years post-conviction in Bilibid prison. “I was housed in a maximum-security wing, 4C-2, alongside gang members. It was so crowded that I slept on a piece of cardboard in the corridor,” he recounted. The daily routine included cramped sleeping conditions from 6 PM to 4 AM and a monotonous diet of porridge, bread, rice, and sometimes hotdogs, known as rancho food.
Now free, Aquino reflects on his new life. Living with his younger brother in their childhood home, he enjoys the liberty to eat and sleep at his convenience and relishes home-cooked meals. “In prison, I dreamt of chicken adobo and a soft mattress. Today I have both,” he says. His daily routine now includes sweeping the yard, burning rubbish, and doing press-ups to maintain fitness. Although he has not seen his daughter in a decade, he hopes to reunite with her soon.
Aquino underscores the importance of serving sentences but advocates for prioritizing the release of elderly inmates. “I was released with others my age, but I know men who are 75 and still locked up,” he concludes.
Original Story https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/07/1152021
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