1 00:00:07,461 --> 00:00:10,181 [Rowe] Manila City Jail, the Philippines. 2 00:00:10,261 --> 00:00:14,021 One of the most overcrowded prisons in the world. 3 00:00:14,821 --> 00:00:17,381 The government's controversial war on drugs 4 00:00:17,461 --> 00:00:20,861 has pushed its inmate population to the brink. 5 00:00:20,941 --> 00:00:23,581 Drugs, drugs again, murder. 6 00:00:23,661 --> 00:00:25,901 -You've been in prison ten times. -Yeah. 7 00:00:25,981 --> 00:00:29,141 Five thousand men are crammed into this prison 8 00:00:29,221 --> 00:00:31,581 built for just 1,200. 9 00:00:31,661 --> 00:00:33,661 I cannot believe what I am seeing. 10 00:00:33,741 --> 00:00:36,221 I mean, I'm lost for words, to be honest. 11 00:00:36,301 --> 00:00:39,981 With only one guard for every 400 inmates, 12 00:00:40,061 --> 00:00:44,901 parts of this penitentiary are run by criminal prison gangs. 13 00:00:44,981 --> 00:00:48,581 I don't want my children to be victims of these people. 14 00:00:48,661 --> 00:00:50,501 My name's Raphael Rowe, 15 00:00:50,581 --> 00:00:53,821 and I'm spending a week locked up in this packed jail 16 00:00:53,901 --> 00:00:57,141 alongside notorious criminal gangs, 17 00:00:57,221 --> 00:01:01,941 who just, six months ago, went on a murderous rampage, killing rivals. 18 00:01:02,781 --> 00:01:08,341 [in Tagalog] What I saw was really like war. 19 00:01:09,741 --> 00:01:12,341 But it's not my first time behind bars. 20 00:01:12,861 --> 00:01:16,901 I was convicted in the UK of a murder I did not commit, 21 00:01:16,981 --> 00:01:19,901 and sentenced to life with no parole. 22 00:01:20,501 --> 00:01:23,981 It took me 12 long years to clear my name. 23 00:01:25,221 --> 00:01:26,901 Now I'm traveling the globe 24 00:01:26,981 --> 00:01:29,501 to discover what life is really like 25 00:01:30,101 --> 00:01:32,701 inside some of the world's toughest prisons. 26 00:01:41,461 --> 00:01:43,261 [dark, percussive music] 27 00:01:43,341 --> 00:01:45,301 Manila, the Philippines. 28 00:01:46,581 --> 00:01:49,541 This country is gripped by a drugs epidemic 29 00:01:49,621 --> 00:01:52,861 that has led to a huge crime wave and gang wars. 30 00:01:52,941 --> 00:01:54,701 -[officer] Your son? -[woman sobs] 31 00:01:54,781 --> 00:01:58,541 President Rodrigo Duterte rode to power 32 00:01:58,621 --> 00:02:01,781 on a murderous promise to deal with the drug problem 33 00:02:01,861 --> 00:02:05,341 by killing producers, dealers, and users. 34 00:02:05,421 --> 00:02:06,661 [in English] 35 00:02:16,061 --> 00:02:18,021 Tonight, I'm heading out on a drugs raid 36 00:02:18,621 --> 00:02:20,381 with one of the frontline units 37 00:02:20,461 --> 00:02:21,941 mercilessly prosecuting 38 00:02:22,021 --> 00:02:24,221 the president's war on drugs. 39 00:02:24,941 --> 00:02:29,581 I'm inside the Philippines Drug Enforcement Agency's headquarters, 40 00:02:29,661 --> 00:02:32,821 and as you can see behind me, their operatives are getting ready 41 00:02:32,901 --> 00:02:34,661 to go out on an operation. 42 00:02:35,461 --> 00:02:38,141 Their target: a suspected drug dealer. 43 00:02:40,541 --> 00:02:43,061 [brooding music plays] 44 00:02:45,941 --> 00:02:49,021 How big a problem is drugs here in the Philippines? 45 00:02:49,101 --> 00:02:52,421 Uh, prior to the assumption of the president right now, 46 00:02:52,501 --> 00:02:54,541 this is a major national problem. 47 00:02:54,621 --> 00:02:56,901 But as of now, I think we are winning the war. 48 00:02:56,981 --> 00:02:58,701 That's what we're doing right now. 49 00:02:58,781 --> 00:03:01,381 -And you consider it a war. -Oh, yeah, it's a war. 50 00:03:01,461 --> 00:03:04,781 It's a war against humanity, a war against mankind. 51 00:03:05,701 --> 00:03:09,341 The target is in a poor shantytown in East Manila. 52 00:03:09,941 --> 00:03:11,941 -[agent 1 over radio] Now. -[agent 2] Go. 53 00:03:12,541 --> 00:03:14,941 -[agent 1] Go. Keep going. Go. -[agent 2] Go. 54 00:03:15,021 --> 00:03:16,061 [agent 1] Let's go! 55 00:03:16,141 --> 00:03:17,301 [dogs barking] 56 00:03:20,821 --> 00:03:23,061 I think they've arrived at their destination. 57 00:03:24,341 --> 00:03:25,541 [dog barking] 58 00:03:27,981 --> 00:03:31,621 [Rowe] The suspect is a young pregnant woman with a child. 59 00:03:32,701 --> 00:03:35,581 [tense music playing] 60 00:03:38,501 --> 00:03:43,101 [woman in Tagalog] That is not mine! 61 00:03:43,181 --> 00:03:44,861 [Rowe] They've found something. 62 00:03:44,941 --> 00:03:51,701 [woman in Tagalog] Please have mercy on me. Have mercy on me! 63 00:03:52,221 --> 00:03:54,221 -[Rowe] Looks like drugs… -[woman crying] 64 00:03:54,301 --> 00:03:58,301 …inside little packages of what I suspect is meth. 65 00:03:58,381 --> 00:04:04,341 [woman in Tagalog] I am not a drug pusher. 66 00:04:05,741 --> 00:04:08,861 Crystal meth, a powerful stimulant, 67 00:04:08,941 --> 00:04:12,101 is the drug of choice for many poor Filipinos 68 00:04:12,181 --> 00:04:15,381 who use it to work longer hours to survive. 69 00:04:16,661 --> 00:04:19,301 -[woman sobbing] -She's absolutely distraught 70 00:04:19,381 --> 00:04:21,341 and hasn't stopped crying. 71 00:04:21,421 --> 00:04:24,981 And the only word I can make out from her is "baby." 72 00:04:25,061 --> 00:04:27,381 [child wailing] 73 00:04:27,461 --> 00:04:28,341 [woman sobbing] 74 00:04:28,421 --> 00:04:31,461 And she must know that her kid is going to be taken away. 75 00:04:31,541 --> 00:04:35,261 This woman, who is a suspected drug dealer, 76 00:04:35,341 --> 00:04:36,981 knows her fate… 77 00:04:37,861 --> 00:04:39,501 is going to be prison. 78 00:04:40,901 --> 00:04:42,421 [brooding music fading away] 79 00:04:43,901 --> 00:04:46,021 [tense music plays] 80 00:04:46,101 --> 00:04:50,701 This woman, like countless others arrested every day for drugs here, 81 00:04:50,781 --> 00:04:53,461 will be sent to one of Manila's jails. 82 00:04:54,021 --> 00:04:58,381 And I'm heading to the toughest of them all, Manila City Jail, 83 00:04:58,461 --> 00:05:00,901 to spend a week as a prisoner. 84 00:05:02,581 --> 00:05:04,701 Since coming to power in 2016, 85 00:05:04,781 --> 00:05:07,501 the government claim Duterte's war on drugs 86 00:05:07,581 --> 00:05:11,181 has taken over 500 million US dollars' 87 00:05:11,261 --> 00:05:13,781 worth of narcotics off the streets, 88 00:05:13,861 --> 00:05:18,021 and made over 160,000 arrests. 89 00:05:20,421 --> 00:05:23,461 This hardline purge has swollen 90 00:05:23,541 --> 00:05:28,661 the already overcrowded prison population to breaking point. 91 00:05:30,821 --> 00:05:33,181 What scares me more than anything 92 00:05:33,261 --> 00:05:36,981 is the fact that there is only one guard for 400 prisoners. 93 00:05:37,061 --> 00:05:41,181 How do you protect prisoners from the threat of violence? 94 00:05:41,261 --> 00:05:44,301 I'm told it's the prisoners who protect the prisoners. 95 00:05:45,221 --> 00:05:48,581 I don't know what to expect when I get into this prison. 96 00:05:49,221 --> 00:05:51,261 [ominous music plays] 97 00:05:52,301 --> 00:05:53,581 [horn honks] 98 00:05:54,341 --> 00:05:55,621 [gate creaking] 99 00:05:56,981 --> 00:06:01,101 Manila City Jail was built for 1,200 inmates, 100 00:06:01,181 --> 00:06:05,261 but it's now crammed with almost 5,000 prisoners. 101 00:06:08,661 --> 00:06:10,181 [guards speaking Tagalog] 102 00:06:12,301 --> 00:06:14,101 -Here? -[man yells indistinctly] 103 00:06:14,181 --> 00:06:16,101 -[guard] Your name? -Raphael Rowe. 104 00:06:16,701 --> 00:06:17,941 To me. 105 00:06:19,981 --> 00:06:21,501 Up your hands. Like this. 106 00:06:23,181 --> 00:06:25,741 This is a first, being searched out in the open. 107 00:06:25,821 --> 00:06:27,541 What's the stamp for? 108 00:06:27,621 --> 00:06:30,781 -[guard] To identify you as a PDL. -[Rowe] A PDL? 109 00:06:30,861 --> 00:06:32,741 Persons deprived of liberty. 110 00:06:33,381 --> 00:06:38,141 These stamps now define me as a person deprived of liberty. 111 00:06:38,741 --> 00:06:39,741 [woman] Right index. 112 00:06:41,021 --> 00:06:42,821 They're taking my biometrics. 113 00:06:42,901 --> 00:06:44,101 You may proceed now. 114 00:06:50,781 --> 00:06:52,701 [Rowe] A distinctive color, isn't it? 115 00:06:52,781 --> 00:06:55,581 "Changing lives and building a safer nation." 116 00:06:55,661 --> 00:06:58,141 I wonder what that actually means. 117 00:06:59,381 --> 00:07:02,141 -[camera beeps] -Once processed by the prison, 118 00:07:02,221 --> 00:07:06,941 I'm handed over to inmates, not guards, who'll take me to my cell. 119 00:07:07,021 --> 00:07:09,261 [indistinct chattering] 120 00:07:09,341 --> 00:07:11,301 [Rowe] It's heaving. There's so many men 121 00:07:11,381 --> 00:07:14,341 in these yellow T-shirts that I'm wearing. 122 00:07:14,421 --> 00:07:15,381 Like a beehive. 123 00:07:16,501 --> 00:07:17,661 It's packed. 124 00:07:17,741 --> 00:07:19,261 Not just with prisoners, 125 00:07:19,341 --> 00:07:21,981 but also their visiting families as well. 126 00:07:22,701 --> 00:07:23,861 [boy giggles] 127 00:07:24,621 --> 00:07:27,061 I'm being sent to Dorm 4, 128 00:07:27,141 --> 00:07:29,821 where all new prisoners are sent for assessment 129 00:07:29,901 --> 00:07:32,821 before being allocated a final cell. 130 00:07:34,781 --> 00:07:37,861 I'm led upstairs to my new quarters. 131 00:07:38,461 --> 00:07:40,181 [indistinct chattering] 132 00:07:49,621 --> 00:07:52,101 I--I cannot believe what I am seeing. 133 00:07:52,181 --> 00:07:54,901 I mean, I'm lost for words, to be honest, 134 00:07:54,981 --> 00:07:59,621 of the space that I'm in and the amount of men that are squeezed into this space. 135 00:07:59,701 --> 00:08:02,981 Because this place is chronically overcrowded. 136 00:08:03,941 --> 00:08:06,101 Something I've never seen before. 137 00:08:08,101 --> 00:08:09,621 [brooding music plays] 138 00:08:09,701 --> 00:08:10,541 Oh, here? 139 00:08:10,621 --> 00:08:14,541 I'm sent to the back of the block, where I'll be sleeping tonight, 140 00:08:14,621 --> 00:08:16,941 and meet my new cellmates. 141 00:08:17,021 --> 00:08:19,701 -How are you doing? I am Raphael. -J.R., and… 142 00:08:19,781 --> 00:08:22,021 -T.J. -[Rowe] T.J., Raphael. 143 00:08:22,101 --> 00:08:23,621 -Ading. -[Rowe] Ading. 144 00:08:23,701 --> 00:08:26,061 What was you convicted and sentenced to? 145 00:08:26,141 --> 00:08:27,741 Um… 146 00:08:27,821 --> 00:08:28,861 Drugs. 147 00:08:29,661 --> 00:08:31,701 How long did you get sent to prison for? 148 00:08:33,101 --> 00:08:34,181 Seven months. 149 00:08:34,261 --> 00:08:35,901 [Rowe] Been in prison before? 150 00:08:35,981 --> 00:08:37,701 [J.R.] It's my first time here. 151 00:08:37,781 --> 00:08:39,621 What's your drug of choice? 152 00:08:39,701 --> 00:08:41,141 -Meth. Yeah. -Meth. 153 00:08:41,221 --> 00:08:44,781 [Rowe] Have you been sent to prison because you were caught using drugs? 154 00:08:44,861 --> 00:08:46,741 -Yeah. -[Rowe] Not selling drugs? 155 00:08:46,821 --> 00:08:48,821 -Was you selling them--? -Not selling. 156 00:08:48,901 --> 00:08:50,181 -Just using. -Just using. 157 00:08:50,261 --> 00:08:55,021 I don't feel like I'm in a prison. I feel like I'm inside a cattle cage. 158 00:08:56,541 --> 00:09:01,461 [in Tagalog] We cannot do anything but endure our situation now. 159 00:09:02,941 --> 00:09:05,781 There's 400 men in this crowded dorm, 160 00:09:05,861 --> 00:09:09,621 so I'm relying on J.R. to show me the ropes. 161 00:09:09,701 --> 00:09:12,901 Can you give me a tour? I want to know how things work here. 162 00:09:12,981 --> 00:09:14,861 Yeah. Okay. Yeah, come on. 163 00:09:14,941 --> 00:09:17,341 [Rowe] We can walk anywhere we want to right now. 164 00:09:17,421 --> 00:09:18,261 [J.R.] Yeah. 165 00:09:20,221 --> 00:09:22,101 Everywhere I look, there are prisoners. 166 00:09:22,181 --> 00:09:24,661 There's no free space at all. 167 00:09:24,741 --> 00:09:27,821 This is the written rules inside the Dorm 4. 168 00:09:28,581 --> 00:09:30,741 You can see "patakaranan ng Dorm 4," 169 00:09:30,821 --> 00:09:34,181 meaning "respect all the hierarchy of Dorm 4." 170 00:09:34,261 --> 00:09:37,341 -[Rowe] Prison governors. -[J.R.] No, they're all prisoners. 171 00:09:37,421 --> 00:09:38,941 [Rowe] High-ranking prisoners. 172 00:09:39,021 --> 00:09:40,701 -Yes. -Oh, right. Okay. 173 00:09:40,781 --> 00:09:43,301 -These are the written rules? -Yeah, written rules. 174 00:09:43,381 --> 00:09:44,901 What are the unwritten rules? 175 00:09:44,981 --> 00:09:47,381 [J.R.] If you get bump to the visitors, 176 00:09:47,461 --> 00:09:52,781 you will get um, 50 slap of the paddle. 177 00:09:52,861 --> 00:09:55,381 -From the what? Paddle, like a stick? -Paddle, yes. 178 00:09:55,461 --> 00:09:59,421 You mean a visitor's walking, and you bump in like that? 179 00:09:59,501 --> 00:10:00,541 -Yeah. -Accidentally? 180 00:10:00,621 --> 00:10:03,141 [J.R.] Accidentally. Also… No questions at all. 181 00:10:03,221 --> 00:10:04,621 Okay, 50? 182 00:10:04,701 --> 00:10:07,661 Oh, just like this kind of wood. 183 00:10:07,741 --> 00:10:10,821 [Rowe] And they beat the back of your legs. How hard? 184 00:10:11,501 --> 00:10:12,461 Okay. 185 00:10:13,941 --> 00:10:15,341 -[Rowe] Fifty? -[J.R.] Fifty. 186 00:10:17,221 --> 00:10:18,701 -By the prisoners? -Yeah. 187 00:10:20,301 --> 00:10:21,781 [Rowe chuckles] I felt that. 188 00:10:21,861 --> 00:10:25,861 It's astonishing that the rules are not only written by the inmates, 189 00:10:25,941 --> 00:10:29,661 but the punishments are dished out by the prisoners, too. 190 00:10:32,701 --> 00:10:34,221 [gate creaks] 191 00:10:35,581 --> 00:10:38,941 It's 10:00 p.m., and we're all locked in for the night, 192 00:10:39,021 --> 00:10:42,261 crammed into the dormitory like sardines. 193 00:10:43,541 --> 00:10:45,701 [Rowe] How would we sleep 194 00:10:45,781 --> 00:10:49,701 in a space that is not big enough for the amount of men 195 00:10:49,781 --> 00:10:51,301 that are being kept here? 196 00:10:51,381 --> 00:10:52,501 [in Tagalog] Lie down. 197 00:10:53,501 --> 00:10:55,141 [J.R.] They sleep just like that. 198 00:10:55,701 --> 00:10:56,901 [speaks Tagalog] 199 00:10:59,221 --> 00:11:00,181 Like this. 200 00:11:01,301 --> 00:11:02,821 Why you got your leg over him? 201 00:11:02,901 --> 00:11:04,781 [J.R.] To get some space with… 202 00:11:04,861 --> 00:11:11,421 [in Tagalog] To survive here, you have to learn to get along with others. 203 00:11:12,941 --> 00:11:15,061 [sorrowful music plays] 204 00:11:15,141 --> 00:11:17,501 I'm shocked by the situation 205 00:11:17,581 --> 00:11:20,381 and the inmates' acceptance of it. 206 00:11:21,061 --> 00:11:23,301 [Rowe] "We've got to survive," they say. 207 00:11:23,781 --> 00:11:25,781 "We got no choice," they say. 208 00:11:26,341 --> 00:11:28,541 And the fucking reality is, they don't. 209 00:11:28,621 --> 00:11:31,661 It only takes one or two guys to say, "I've had enough. 210 00:11:31,741 --> 00:11:34,301 I'm not gonna stand for this. We've got to riot 211 00:11:34,381 --> 00:11:36,901 because this is not what we should be treated like, 212 00:11:36,981 --> 00:11:38,781 regardless of what I've done." 213 00:11:38,861 --> 00:11:40,301 That bothers me. 214 00:11:40,381 --> 00:11:41,741 [crickets chirping] 215 00:11:50,661 --> 00:11:51,861 [upbeat music  plays] 216 00:11:54,701 --> 00:11:59,701 It's my second day in one of the most overcrowded prisons in the world. 217 00:12:04,341 --> 00:12:07,261 I'm put straight to work with the sweeping crew, 218 00:12:07,341 --> 00:12:12,381 made up entirely by members of the prison's LGBTQ community, 219 00:12:12,461 --> 00:12:14,941 who have chosen to do this work together. 220 00:12:15,901 --> 00:12:19,581 [Akashi] LGBT community! LGBT community! 221 00:12:20,661 --> 00:12:23,021 -Hi. -Hi. I'm Raphael. 222 00:12:23,101 --> 00:12:24,261 -I'm told-- -I'm Akashi. 223 00:12:24,341 --> 00:12:25,701 -What's your name? -Akashi. 224 00:12:25,781 --> 00:12:26,861 Akashi. 225 00:12:26,941 --> 00:12:31,461 Akashi, I've been that I've got to work with you and your gang of cleaners today. 226 00:12:31,541 --> 00:12:32,941 You show me. I'll follow. 227 00:12:33,021 --> 00:12:34,301 You sweep the floor. 228 00:12:34,381 --> 00:12:37,301 -Sweep… On my own? With who? -You sweep the floor. 229 00:12:37,381 --> 00:12:39,781 -To across there? -Other girls, make a line. 230 00:12:39,861 --> 00:12:41,341 -Um… -Sweep the floor. 231 00:12:41,421 --> 00:12:43,301 [indistinct chatter] 232 00:12:43,381 --> 00:12:44,901 [inmate] Sweep the floor. 233 00:12:46,101 --> 00:12:48,141 [Rowe] How long have you been in here? 234 00:12:48,221 --> 00:12:51,341 -[Kenneth] Been here three months. -[Rowe] And what's that for? 235 00:12:51,421 --> 00:12:52,941 I'm involved in drugs. 236 00:12:53,021 --> 00:12:55,461 Oh. Are you convicted or on remand? 237 00:12:55,541 --> 00:12:56,861 First convicted. 238 00:12:56,941 --> 00:12:58,341 -Yeah, first convicted. -Huh? 239 00:12:58,421 --> 00:12:59,861 First convicted. 240 00:12:59,941 --> 00:13:03,221 -You as well? First convicted? -[Akashi] Yeah, she too. 241 00:13:03,821 --> 00:13:04,861 How long? 242 00:13:04,941 --> 00:13:05,981 Two years. 243 00:13:06,061 --> 00:13:07,781 -You've been here two years? -Yeah. 244 00:13:07,861 --> 00:13:09,101 So who's your partner? 245 00:13:09,621 --> 00:13:12,261 -[in Tagalog] My beshy. -Oh, you two are partners. 246 00:13:12,341 --> 00:13:14,941 Just like me, confidently beautiful with a heart. 247 00:13:15,021 --> 00:13:16,421 -[Akashi] Yeah. -Like that. 248 00:13:16,501 --> 00:13:17,861 [Akashi laughs] 249 00:13:23,421 --> 00:13:24,861 Who should I give this back to? 250 00:13:24,941 --> 00:13:26,021 [Akashi] Thank you. 251 00:13:26,101 --> 00:13:27,581 Sweeping over, 252 00:13:27,661 --> 00:13:30,901 I'm called to meet counselor Hannah Nario-Lopez. 253 00:13:31,661 --> 00:13:35,621 As a new prisoner, she must decide which dorm I'll be moved to 254 00:13:35,701 --> 00:13:37,181 for the rest of my time here. 255 00:13:37,261 --> 00:13:39,461 Hi. Hey, Raphael. I'm Hannah. 256 00:13:39,541 --> 00:13:43,781 First, she questions me about my family support network. 257 00:13:43,861 --> 00:13:46,581 I would like to know more about your family. 258 00:13:46,661 --> 00:13:48,461 Were you raised by your parents? 259 00:13:48,541 --> 00:13:50,661 How was your relationship with your siblings? 260 00:13:50,741 --> 00:13:54,621 I was raised by my parents. I do have siblings, um, 261 00:13:54,701 --> 00:13:58,341 and our relationship is very healthy and good. 262 00:13:58,421 --> 00:14:01,381 -Do they know that you're here? -They do know I'm here. 263 00:14:01,941 --> 00:14:07,861 Do prisoners normally respond to these types of inquiries? 264 00:14:07,941 --> 00:14:11,101 'Cause I suppose prying into their history, 265 00:14:11,181 --> 00:14:14,501 which… It can make them quite defensive. 266 00:14:15,101 --> 00:14:16,301 We do understand that. 267 00:14:16,381 --> 00:14:20,541 So we ask their experience about their past, 268 00:14:20,621 --> 00:14:22,421 educational attainment, 269 00:14:22,501 --> 00:14:24,301 substance abuse problems. 270 00:14:24,381 --> 00:14:26,741 This information should enable the prison 271 00:14:26,821 --> 00:14:30,061 to decide suitable rehabilitation for me. 272 00:14:31,221 --> 00:14:34,021 Given that this prison is so overcrowded, 273 00:14:34,101 --> 00:14:38,221 how can I be confident that anything I ask for, 274 00:14:38,301 --> 00:14:39,301 you can provide? 275 00:14:39,381 --> 00:14:42,781 We try to do our best to invite, you know, external help. 276 00:14:42,861 --> 00:14:44,341 That's one of the problems, 277 00:14:44,421 --> 00:14:47,541 'cause officers here are also severely undermanned, 278 00:14:47,621 --> 00:14:50,781 and they really rely on the shared governance 279 00:14:50,861 --> 00:14:53,421 and the understanding that we have 280 00:14:53,501 --> 00:14:56,101 uh, with the PDLs. 281 00:14:56,181 --> 00:14:59,861 So, the prisoners have control over other prisoners? 282 00:14:59,941 --> 00:15:02,101 That's what shared governance is. 283 00:15:02,181 --> 00:15:03,861 I'm not gonna call it control. 284 00:15:03,941 --> 00:15:05,541 It's more of accountability. 285 00:15:05,621 --> 00:15:07,701 Each dorm has a mayores, 286 00:15:07,781 --> 00:15:11,501 uh, or their gang leader, their pangkat leader. 287 00:15:11,581 --> 00:15:14,701 But here in the Philippines, the pangkat, or the gang, 288 00:15:14,781 --> 00:15:16,981 is actually a positive implement 289 00:15:17,061 --> 00:15:19,861 of an alternative structure of governance. 290 00:15:20,501 --> 00:15:22,501 The mayores makes sure 291 00:15:22,581 --> 00:15:26,501 that everybody follows the rules of the jail. 292 00:15:26,581 --> 00:15:28,901 But that can be abused. Even by prisoners? 293 00:15:28,981 --> 00:15:30,941 -Yes. -You give a prisoner the power… 294 00:15:31,021 --> 00:15:33,981 We're not going to deny that. But what can we do right now? 295 00:15:34,061 --> 00:15:37,381 The cooperation between inmate and officer is very important, 296 00:15:37,461 --> 00:15:39,821 since we're severely undermanned, 297 00:15:39,901 --> 00:15:42,781 and the moment that an inmate, a PDL, 298 00:15:42,861 --> 00:15:45,821 um, you know, causes some sort of disorder-- 299 00:15:45,901 --> 00:15:48,901 -Could trigger something bigger. -It could trigger something bigger. 300 00:15:50,501 --> 00:15:51,901 That shocked me. 301 00:15:51,981 --> 00:15:53,861 I've never heard of a prison 302 00:15:53,941 --> 00:15:57,981 that relies officially on the inmates to police themselves. 303 00:15:58,061 --> 00:15:59,941 Traditional gangs 304 00:16:00,021 --> 00:16:01,861 have a hierarchy 305 00:16:01,941 --> 00:16:05,101 of the kingpin, the don, the main gangster. 306 00:16:06,781 --> 00:16:10,901 And then you have all the following ranks beneath that. 307 00:16:10,981 --> 00:16:13,901 So, I wonder if what's happening here 308 00:16:13,981 --> 00:16:17,701 is that traditional gang mentality and culture, 309 00:16:17,781 --> 00:16:20,781 or whether there is something completely different going on. 310 00:16:24,941 --> 00:16:27,581 After their daily chores are completed, 311 00:16:27,661 --> 00:16:31,421 the inmates are free to socialize and hustle for the money they need 312 00:16:31,501 --> 00:16:33,021 to buy essentials, 313 00:16:33,101 --> 00:16:35,061 like extra food to survive. 314 00:16:35,741 --> 00:16:38,861 Some inmates even have little businesses. 315 00:16:40,021 --> 00:16:42,021 They seem to sell anything and everything. 316 00:16:42,101 --> 00:16:44,461 Even these clothes are on the floor for sale. 317 00:16:44,541 --> 00:16:46,701 They're selling lumps of coal, 318 00:16:46,781 --> 00:16:49,461 which I suspect prisoners use to burn, to cook. 319 00:16:51,421 --> 00:16:56,221 Thanks to the courts being overwhelmed by the avalanche of drug charges, 320 00:16:56,301 --> 00:16:58,981 most of the 5,000 prisoners here 321 00:16:59,061 --> 00:17:00,861 are actually on remand. 322 00:17:00,941 --> 00:17:04,701 Many will serve years before they get their day in court. 323 00:17:07,021 --> 00:17:09,021 [in Spanish] How are you? 324 00:17:09,061 --> 00:17:13,821 Hans was one of a group charged with beating to death a fellow student 325 00:17:13,901 --> 00:17:16,621 in an initiation ritual that went wrong. 326 00:17:17,421 --> 00:17:18,461 [inaudible] 327 00:17:18,541 --> 00:17:21,941 Before I was confined, I was a law student. 328 00:17:22,541 --> 00:17:23,701 [in English] Oh, right. 329 00:17:25,661 --> 00:17:27,781 -You spend most of your time in this-- -Yeah. 330 00:17:29,261 --> 00:17:31,261 How long have you been in this dormitory? 331 00:17:31,341 --> 00:17:33,501 -[Hans] Almost two years. -[Rowe] Two years? 332 00:17:33,581 --> 00:17:36,701 -So you are not convicted. -I'm not convicted. 333 00:17:36,781 --> 00:17:38,221 And I'm innocent. 334 00:17:38,301 --> 00:17:40,141 Why has your trial not taken place? 335 00:17:40,221 --> 00:17:43,101 Our case is actually running pretty much faster 336 00:17:43,741 --> 00:17:46,581 than a regular case. 337 00:17:46,661 --> 00:17:48,221 I wouldn't call two years fast. 338 00:17:48,301 --> 00:17:52,101 The last mayores was in here for 14 years. 339 00:17:52,181 --> 00:17:53,901 He was eventually acquitted. 340 00:17:53,981 --> 00:17:56,221 -So he spent 14 years in prison. -Yeah. 341 00:17:56,301 --> 00:17:58,461 Do your family believe that you wasn't involved? 342 00:17:58,541 --> 00:18:02,261 Yeah. They visit me here almost every weekend. 343 00:18:02,341 --> 00:18:05,501 They come here, and they visit me. They bring food, 344 00:18:05,581 --> 00:18:09,021 so at least I may taste food outside jail. 345 00:18:09,101 --> 00:18:11,501 -Are you part of the gang culture here? -No. 346 00:18:11,581 --> 00:18:14,261 Uh, they labeled me as a querna. 347 00:18:14,341 --> 00:18:16,861 When you say a PDL is a querna… 348 00:18:17,541 --> 00:18:20,261 querna is someone who is not affiliated to any gang. 349 00:18:20,341 --> 00:18:21,261 Right, okay. 350 00:18:21,341 --> 00:18:23,541 What's the benefits of being in a gang, then? 351 00:18:23,621 --> 00:18:27,141 Oh, you have… you have a support system. 352 00:18:27,941 --> 00:18:30,461 I believe I don't need that support from the gang. 353 00:18:30,541 --> 00:18:33,181 So for those who don't have family bringing food 354 00:18:33,261 --> 00:18:34,981 and money and stuff to help you, 355 00:18:35,061 --> 00:18:37,821 they get it from their fellow gang members. 356 00:18:37,901 --> 00:18:40,781 It's like, uh… it's like joining a community. 357 00:18:41,421 --> 00:18:43,981 Inside a gang, they, um… What do you call this? 358 00:18:44,061 --> 00:18:47,021 They have their own, uh… they have their own fund. 359 00:18:47,101 --> 00:18:49,661 They have their own programs, their own projects. 360 00:18:49,741 --> 00:18:52,781 What's expected of those gang members, then? 361 00:18:52,861 --> 00:18:57,181 Are they expected to do things in return for those rewards? 362 00:18:57,261 --> 00:18:58,181 Yeah. 363 00:18:58,261 --> 00:19:02,101 Uh, the gang has their own Magna Carta. 364 00:19:02,181 --> 00:19:03,581 They have their own rules. 365 00:19:03,661 --> 00:19:07,221 So, if you follow those rules, you would get incentives. 366 00:19:07,301 --> 00:19:11,141 And if not, you will get disciplinary action from them. 367 00:19:11,221 --> 00:19:13,581 What's the worst disciplinary action? 368 00:19:14,181 --> 00:19:15,181 Uh… 369 00:19:15,261 --> 00:19:18,341 -Can I say that? [chuckles] -That's up to you, if you want to. 370 00:19:18,421 --> 00:19:20,301 Okay, from what I observe, 371 00:19:20,381 --> 00:19:24,621 uh, you're gonna get, um… you're gonna get beaten. 372 00:19:24,701 --> 00:19:27,821 If your co-gang member 373 00:19:27,901 --> 00:19:33,621 uh, had done something bad to a member of another gang, 374 00:19:33,701 --> 00:19:36,021 we will put a disciplinary action on our-- 375 00:19:36,101 --> 00:19:39,821 We will discipline him rather than it become a war between different gangs. 376 00:19:39,901 --> 00:19:44,421 So, in a way, that becomes a way for keeping the peace here in jail. 377 00:19:45,701 --> 00:19:46,701 [Rowe] Okay. 378 00:19:48,061 --> 00:19:49,501 Hans is lucky. 379 00:19:49,581 --> 00:19:54,061 He has money, so he doesn't have to rely on the gangs to support him. 380 00:19:54,141 --> 00:19:57,901 But everything I'm hearing so far is pointing to the fact 381 00:19:57,981 --> 00:20:01,941 that it's the gangs who are really in charge of this prison, 382 00:20:02,021 --> 00:20:03,301 not the guards. 383 00:20:06,141 --> 00:20:09,381 Tomorrow, I'm being moved to a new cell block, 384 00:20:09,461 --> 00:20:11,941 and I'm nervous about what awaits me. 385 00:20:16,581 --> 00:20:18,581 [ominous music plays] 386 00:20:23,501 --> 00:20:25,221 It's moving day, 387 00:20:25,301 --> 00:20:27,141 when we'll be transferred to the cells 388 00:20:27,221 --> 00:20:30,101 where we'll spend the rest of our sentence. 389 00:20:33,461 --> 00:20:36,141 -How are you doing? You good? -How are you? 390 00:20:36,221 --> 00:20:41,261 Is everybody waiting for the guards to come and tell them where they're going? 391 00:20:41,341 --> 00:20:42,381 [J.R.] Yes. 392 00:20:43,541 --> 00:20:45,981 I have a symbol here, Bahala Na gang, 393 00:20:46,061 --> 00:20:49,941 so it's okay if I go to Bahala Na gang dorm. 394 00:20:50,021 --> 00:20:51,621 Is that where you hope to go? 395 00:20:51,701 --> 00:20:52,541 Yes. 396 00:20:52,621 --> 00:20:55,621 [in Tagalog] I know a lot of people in the Bahala Na gang. 397 00:20:56,461 --> 00:20:58,621 Many of them are my childhood friends. 398 00:20:58,701 --> 00:21:02,061 When did you first become one of the gang members? 399 00:21:02,141 --> 00:21:05,381 [in English] When I get caught, January 20, 400 00:21:06,261 --> 00:21:10,101 I see one of the prisoners in a police station. 401 00:21:10,181 --> 00:21:13,221 [in Tagalog] Um, I knew him. He was my neighbor. 402 00:21:13,301 --> 00:21:18,181 So to get privileges in prison, I joined the gang. 403 00:21:18,821 --> 00:21:20,541 -They look after you. -Yes. 404 00:21:20,621 --> 00:21:22,541 What do you have to do in return? 405 00:21:22,621 --> 00:21:24,341 [in Tagalog] If have visitors with… 406 00:21:24,421 --> 00:21:27,741 [in English] So food and money, I will give them. 407 00:21:29,581 --> 00:21:34,141 Bahala Na is one of the four big criminal gangs in the Philippines, 408 00:21:34,221 --> 00:21:38,221 operating both outside and inside the prison. 409 00:21:38,301 --> 00:21:41,461 And although J.R. may have joined for protection, 410 00:21:41,541 --> 00:21:46,101 there's no guarantee he'll end up in the dorm controlled by them. 411 00:21:46,181 --> 00:21:48,221 [Joz in Tagalog] Take your belongings. 412 00:21:50,581 --> 00:21:53,181 [J.R.] Right hand, right shoulder. Just follow. 413 00:21:54,221 --> 00:21:58,981 The prison authorities decide which cells prisoners are sent to. 414 00:22:00,061 --> 00:22:04,341 But the men collecting us are gang bosses, known as mayores, 415 00:22:04,421 --> 00:22:06,301 from our new dorms. 416 00:22:07,221 --> 00:22:09,421 [Joz in English] Sit down. Align yourself. 417 00:22:09,501 --> 00:22:10,541 [J.R.] Sit here. 418 00:22:12,181 --> 00:22:13,981 Dorm 8, Raphael Rowe. 419 00:22:14,781 --> 00:22:16,541 -Raphael Rowe? -Yes. 420 00:22:16,621 --> 00:22:19,661 [Joz in Tagalog] You'll go with Cordero. Cordero! 421 00:22:20,381 --> 00:22:24,861 I've been allocated to Dorm 8, run by the Bahala Na gang, 422 00:22:24,941 --> 00:22:27,741 but it doesn't look like J.R. is being sent there. 423 00:22:27,821 --> 00:22:31,941 You have to see the worry on his face, actually, that he's not been called yet. 424 00:22:32,021 --> 00:22:33,701 You're not going to Dorm 8? 425 00:22:34,421 --> 00:22:35,701 He's not called you? 426 00:22:35,781 --> 00:22:37,501 -I don't think so. -No? 427 00:22:37,581 --> 00:22:38,941 -I don't know. -Okay. 428 00:22:40,061 --> 00:22:41,861 -Good luck, man. -Good luck, man. 429 00:22:41,941 --> 00:22:43,941 [Joz in Tagalog] Let's go. Let's go now. 430 00:22:51,581 --> 00:22:53,381 I'm led into Dorm 8, 431 00:22:53,461 --> 00:22:57,701 home of the notorious Bahala Na gang, who ironically 432 00:22:57,781 --> 00:23:01,821 run much of the drug crime that put many of the men in here. 433 00:23:03,181 --> 00:23:09,261 Once inside, the gang leader spells out the rules to all of us new inmates. 434 00:23:10,901 --> 00:23:14,141 [Arsenio in Tagalog] Comrade. What is the only thing that we ask of you? 435 00:23:14,741 --> 00:23:17,701 Behave as a person so that we will not have a problem. 436 00:23:17,781 --> 00:23:21,781 If you are carrying a heavy problem with our comrades or with other groups, 437 00:23:21,861 --> 00:23:24,901 you inform me as mayores, 438 00:23:24,981 --> 00:23:27,901 and we will act on it. 439 00:23:27,981 --> 00:23:30,861 Do you understand, fellow inmates? 440 00:23:30,941 --> 00:23:33,301 Love, brotherhood, that is all that matters now. 441 00:23:34,261 --> 00:23:36,461 [Rowe] I've never come across that before. 442 00:23:36,541 --> 00:23:42,021 They've been given the responsibility to control each other. 443 00:23:42,101 --> 00:23:45,261 And they keep going on about this respect and discipline, 444 00:23:45,341 --> 00:23:47,661 something that they've come up with themselves. 445 00:23:49,221 --> 00:23:51,061 There are no prison guards 446 00:23:52,101 --> 00:23:53,901 in this dormitory. 447 00:23:53,981 --> 00:23:55,221 [indistinct chattering] 448 00:23:55,301 --> 00:23:58,901 The rules seem to be saying, "We're a brotherhood, 449 00:23:58,981 --> 00:24:02,061 and this place is run by a gang." 450 00:24:04,581 --> 00:24:07,861 I haven't even had a chance to see my new cell 451 00:24:07,941 --> 00:24:11,061 before Arsenio puts me to work. 452 00:24:12,941 --> 00:24:16,581 Hey. Good evening. My name is Roger. 453 00:24:17,261 --> 00:24:20,981 [in mixed English and Tagalog] Can you help me to help in the kitchen? 454 00:24:21,061 --> 00:24:22,141 [Rowe] Okay. 455 00:24:22,221 --> 00:24:25,821 I'm joining Roger's team of kitchen porters. 456 00:24:25,901 --> 00:24:27,661 They collect food for Dorm 8 457 00:24:27,741 --> 00:24:31,741 from the central prison kitchens three times a day. 458 00:24:32,781 --> 00:24:37,661 I'm picking up the rice, and apparently, there's strict portion control. 459 00:24:37,741 --> 00:24:39,701 Start counting per one people… 460 00:24:39,781 --> 00:24:41,141 -[Rowe] Right. -…300 grams. 461 00:24:41,221 --> 00:24:43,221 [Rowe] Three hundred grams. What else? 462 00:24:43,301 --> 00:24:44,421 [in Tagalog] At lunch… 463 00:24:45,461 --> 00:24:48,301 [in English] rice and one piece chicken. 464 00:24:48,901 --> 00:24:49,741 Okay. 465 00:24:51,381 --> 00:24:52,421 [Roger] Can you… 466 00:24:52,501 --> 00:24:55,221 [Rowe] Oh, I've got to do the heavy lifting. Of course. 467 00:24:56,461 --> 00:24:58,381 Damn, this is heavy, man. Oh! 468 00:24:59,021 --> 00:25:03,701 We carry the food back for all the waiting prisoners in my dorm. 469 00:25:03,781 --> 00:25:04,981 [man clamoring] 470 00:25:05,781 --> 00:25:07,781 [inmates chattering indistinctly] 471 00:25:15,101 --> 00:25:16,141 [sighs] 472 00:25:16,221 --> 00:25:19,141 When I was carrying the rice, the only thing on my mind 473 00:25:19,221 --> 00:25:22,821 was not the weight. It was tripping over and spilling it so no one would get fed. 474 00:25:22,901 --> 00:25:24,581 So I was quite nervous. 475 00:25:28,341 --> 00:25:30,941 Is there a budget for all of the cooking? 476 00:25:31,021 --> 00:25:33,261 [Roger] Seventy-five pesos, one person. 477 00:25:33,341 --> 00:25:37,421 [Rowe] So it's about one dollar, 20 cents. Per person. Every day. 478 00:25:37,501 --> 00:25:38,461 [Roger] Every day. 479 00:25:39,381 --> 00:25:42,221 With so little food and so many men, 480 00:25:42,301 --> 00:25:45,141 we have to weigh out the portions very carefully, 481 00:25:45,221 --> 00:25:48,781 so no one is left without at the end of the line. 482 00:25:48,861 --> 00:25:50,101 [Roger] Over. 483 00:25:50,181 --> 00:25:51,581 -Over. -[Roger] 300 grams. 484 00:25:54,141 --> 00:25:55,061 Good. 485 00:25:55,141 --> 00:25:56,061 [Rowe] Okay. 486 00:25:56,661 --> 00:25:57,941 Where is the vegetables? 487 00:25:58,021 --> 00:26:00,181 -[Roger] Chop suey. -[Rowe] Where? Okay. 488 00:26:01,461 --> 00:26:02,821 Okay, you're welcome. 489 00:26:02,901 --> 00:26:04,101 Thank you. 490 00:26:04,181 --> 00:26:06,421 -Thank you, my friend, Raphael. -Yes. Okay. 491 00:26:07,341 --> 00:26:11,341 With the rice dished out, I'm joining cell boss Arsenio 492 00:26:11,421 --> 00:26:14,261 to find out if it really is true 493 00:26:14,341 --> 00:26:17,541 that it's his gang, not the guards, in charge here. 494 00:26:17,621 --> 00:26:19,181 [meows] 495 00:26:19,261 --> 00:26:20,701 How does this place work? 496 00:26:20,781 --> 00:26:23,061 Because you don't have any prison guards here. 497 00:26:23,141 --> 00:26:25,061 [Arsenio in English] We maintain discipline, 498 00:26:25,141 --> 00:26:26,861 because they obey our rules. 499 00:26:26,941 --> 00:26:30,501 Gang leaders, they must obey me. 500 00:26:30,581 --> 00:26:32,741 Rules and regulations in this dorm. 501 00:26:32,821 --> 00:26:33,861 And if they don't? 502 00:26:33,941 --> 00:26:35,461 We give them sanctions. 503 00:26:36,461 --> 00:26:39,981 We have, uh, many sanctions, to clean around, 504 00:26:40,061 --> 00:26:43,861 uh, starting the morning up to the evening. 505 00:26:43,941 --> 00:26:46,461 [Rowe] If they don't follow the rules, they get sanctioned. 506 00:26:46,541 --> 00:26:48,301 If they did not obey… 507 00:26:49,341 --> 00:26:53,701 uh, we can bring them to the office of the BJMP. 508 00:26:53,781 --> 00:26:54,821 Okay. 509 00:26:54,901 --> 00:26:55,861 And… 510 00:26:57,341 --> 00:26:59,501 [in Tagalog] they take care of it. They will… 511 00:26:59,581 --> 00:27:02,661 [in English] They are the one who will discipline that person. 512 00:27:03,821 --> 00:27:06,861 But criminal gangs aren't known for being benevolent 513 00:27:06,941 --> 00:27:09,181 to members who don't toe the line. 514 00:27:09,901 --> 00:27:13,901 Other prisoners are scared of the gang leaders because of the violence. 515 00:27:13,981 --> 00:27:16,821 Maybe the past gang leaders. 516 00:27:17,661 --> 00:27:21,421 We help each other, especially when there is hate 517 00:27:21,501 --> 00:27:25,741 or there is a problem about their family. 518 00:27:25,821 --> 00:27:30,421 [in Tagalog] We can also help financially. 519 00:27:30,501 --> 00:27:37,261 Even outside, our fellow inmates or gangmates… 520 00:27:37,861 --> 00:27:39,141 [in English] they help us. 521 00:27:40,101 --> 00:27:44,541 [Rowe] I'm starting to discover that the context of gang 522 00:27:44,621 --> 00:27:46,421 is very different here. 523 00:27:46,501 --> 00:27:52,181 There are no prison guards in this dormitory monitoring, 524 00:27:52,261 --> 00:27:55,541 supervising, or disciplining these prisoners. 525 00:27:55,621 --> 00:27:57,221 They do it themselves. 526 00:27:57,821 --> 00:28:00,621 But precisely because of this control, 527 00:28:00,701 --> 00:28:03,061 there's nowhere to hide for the inmates. 528 00:28:03,141 --> 00:28:04,181 If anything, 529 00:28:04,261 --> 00:28:07,621 it could be harder than when the authorities are in charge. 530 00:28:08,381 --> 00:28:11,021 Tomorrow, I want to find out what it means 531 00:28:11,101 --> 00:28:14,341 for the average prisoner when the gangs are king. 532 00:28:20,941 --> 00:28:22,741 It's nearly 10:00 p.m., 533 00:28:22,821 --> 00:28:24,901 time for me to head to my cell. 534 00:28:25,541 --> 00:28:29,581 Like in my first dorm, all the men who don't have gang rank or money 535 00:28:29,661 --> 00:28:32,861 to buy space sleep on the floor. 536 00:28:35,221 --> 00:28:36,301 I can sit here? 537 00:28:36,381 --> 00:28:39,021 Janard is the night watchman. 538 00:28:39,101 --> 00:28:41,181 He does this job for Arsenio, 539 00:28:41,261 --> 00:28:44,221 as he doesn't have any money to pay the gang. 540 00:28:44,861 --> 00:28:47,341 And can anybody sleep wherever they want to sleep, 541 00:28:47,421 --> 00:28:51,261 or is everybody in their space and that's their space? 542 00:28:51,341 --> 00:28:54,221 [in Tagalog] Me. I'm the one who decides where they stay. 543 00:28:54,301 --> 00:28:57,341 Is there any space on the floor for any new person? 544 00:28:58,261 --> 00:29:00,741 There's still a few spaces. 545 00:29:01,341 --> 00:29:06,261 Looks like every inch of space is taken up by somebody sleeping on the floor, 546 00:29:06,341 --> 00:29:08,381 but you're not sleeping on the floor. 547 00:29:08,461 --> 00:29:12,741 I watch everyone and their stuff. 548 00:29:12,821 --> 00:29:18,021 I'm just checking that everyone is safe 549 00:29:18,101 --> 00:29:23,581 and everything is safe in case there's an emergency. 550 00:29:23,661 --> 00:29:27,581 What sort of things do you see at night that happens, 551 00:29:27,661 --> 00:29:29,341 that's not supposed to happen? 552 00:29:29,421 --> 00:29:34,661 Sometimes, things go missing… 553 00:29:36,421 --> 00:29:40,061 or people run out of places to sleep. 554 00:29:40,141 --> 00:29:42,701 [pensive music plays] 555 00:29:46,221 --> 00:29:48,261 [Rowe] I just can't believe my eyes. 556 00:29:49,461 --> 00:29:51,741 It's just absolutely crazy. 557 00:29:51,821 --> 00:29:57,701 Every space on the floor, upstairs, downstairs, in every corner, 558 00:29:57,781 --> 00:30:02,501 there are grown men trying to squeeze next to each other, 559 00:30:02,581 --> 00:30:05,541 over each other, to go to sleep. 560 00:30:06,581 --> 00:30:09,301 I mean, it's better than Dorm 4, 561 00:30:09,381 --> 00:30:11,621 but it's still so claustrophobic. 562 00:30:11,701 --> 00:30:15,141 The simple things that we take for granted 563 00:30:15,221 --> 00:30:17,461 have been taken away from these men, 564 00:30:17,541 --> 00:30:20,581 especially one of our most prized possessions: 565 00:30:21,541 --> 00:30:22,781 privacy. 566 00:30:22,861 --> 00:30:25,381 [pensive music continues] 567 00:30:40,501 --> 00:30:43,021 [tense music plays] 568 00:30:47,181 --> 00:30:51,021 It's my first full day in the Bahala Na gang dorm. 569 00:30:51,101 --> 00:30:54,141 I'm amazed how organized this place is, 570 00:30:54,221 --> 00:30:57,381 given that it's run by the prisoners themselves. 571 00:30:58,461 --> 00:31:01,701 But I want to know what it's like for ordinary prisoners 572 00:31:01,781 --> 00:31:05,341 living under the control of a criminal gang. 573 00:31:05,421 --> 00:31:08,661 A fellow inmate has offered to show me around. 574 00:31:08,741 --> 00:31:11,621 -How you doing? Raphael. What's your name? -I'm Jin Ragan. 575 00:31:12,221 --> 00:31:13,381 Jin Ragan. 576 00:31:17,221 --> 00:31:20,061 -How long have you been in this prison? -Um… 577 00:31:21,261 --> 00:31:22,821 Eight months? Oh, nine months. 578 00:31:22,901 --> 00:31:23,861 -Nine months. -Yeah. 579 00:31:23,941 --> 00:31:25,661 -Is it your first time? -No. 580 00:31:25,741 --> 00:31:27,941 No. You're… before? 581 00:31:28,021 --> 00:31:30,061 I am… ten times. 582 00:31:30,141 --> 00:31:32,181 -You've been in prison ten times? -Yeah. 583 00:31:32,261 --> 00:31:35,301 -Why? -Because, um… First case, murder. 584 00:31:35,941 --> 00:31:38,021 You've been in prison for murder already? 585 00:31:38,101 --> 00:31:40,501 And then second case, robbery holdup. 586 00:31:41,181 --> 00:31:45,141 And then third, fourth, drugs. 587 00:31:45,221 --> 00:31:48,061 Fifth, robbery, robber snatching. 588 00:31:48,141 --> 00:31:50,421 [in Tagalog] It's all about drugs, all drugs. 589 00:31:50,501 --> 00:31:51,701 [Rowe] Who did you kill? 590 00:31:52,541 --> 00:31:53,821 [in English] Two gangster. 591 00:31:53,901 --> 00:31:54,941 [Rowe] A enemy. 592 00:31:55,021 --> 00:31:58,221 Enemy gangster, yeah. In a drive-by and then I killed him. 593 00:31:59,381 --> 00:32:03,621 Jin offers to show me what money and rank can buy in this dormitory, 594 00:32:03,701 --> 00:32:06,421 starting with the gang boss' quarters. 595 00:32:07,861 --> 00:32:09,941 This is, uh, the mayores' room. 596 00:32:10,021 --> 00:32:11,581 [Rowe] Okay, can I have a look? 597 00:32:12,701 --> 00:32:17,381 [Jin in Tagalog] He's our father in charge of the Bahala Na Gang. 598 00:32:18,661 --> 00:32:21,861 [Rowe] This is the best I've seen in the whole of this prison. 599 00:32:21,941 --> 00:32:24,021 This is a palace. 600 00:32:25,581 --> 00:32:27,661 He has his own personal TV, 601 00:32:27,741 --> 00:32:30,341 enough space for a small double bed. 602 00:32:30,421 --> 00:32:32,381 He's been rewarded very well. 603 00:32:32,461 --> 00:32:34,621 Why does he have this and no one else? 604 00:32:34,701 --> 00:32:39,541 We chose him because he was a good friend. He never gave up on us. 605 00:32:39,621 --> 00:32:42,501 He is our choice. We put him there. We voted for him. 606 00:32:44,181 --> 00:32:48,141 And the trusted lieutenants of the gang are also rewarded 607 00:32:48,221 --> 00:32:49,941 with much better cells 608 00:32:50,021 --> 00:32:51,621 than all the other prisoners. 609 00:32:53,701 --> 00:32:57,301 This is what we call kubol. These cells are just for ten people. 610 00:32:57,901 --> 00:32:59,901 [Rowe] How do you earn this room then? 611 00:32:59,981 --> 00:33:04,341 These are just given to us by the gang boss in charge. 612 00:33:04,421 --> 00:33:05,981 -Bye. -[Jin speaks indistinctly] 613 00:33:07,301 --> 00:33:10,061 And because the prison is so short of staff, 614 00:33:10,141 --> 00:33:12,621 the gang run courses for their members. 615 00:33:12,701 --> 00:33:14,421 -[Rowe] Here? -This, study room. 616 00:33:15,941 --> 00:33:17,221 [man speaks indistinctly] 617 00:33:17,301 --> 00:33:21,741 [in Tagalog] Those who don't know how to read and write 618 00:33:21,821 --> 00:33:28,661 attend courses taught by prisoners here. 619 00:33:31,981 --> 00:33:36,341 One of Dorm 8's star inmates, who has been taught to read and write 620 00:33:36,421 --> 00:33:38,941 by the gang members, is Suzuki. 621 00:33:39,021 --> 00:33:42,381 -[in English] Famous rapper in the jail. -Okay. 622 00:33:42,461 --> 00:33:45,421 [rapping in Tagalog] ♪ Many say that jail is hell ♪ 623 00:33:45,501 --> 00:33:47,421 ♪ Prisoners are humans Who act like demons ♪ 624 00:33:47,501 --> 00:33:49,061 ♪ It is painful, it's hard to accept ♪ 625 00:33:49,141 --> 00:33:51,381 ♪There are so many here In the place to be ♪ 626 00:33:51,461 --> 00:33:56,541 ♪ I think quickly I will become Like a nightmare in your dream ♪ 627 00:33:58,141 --> 00:33:59,261 -Bravo. -[Jin chuckles] 628 00:33:59,341 --> 00:34:00,981 [inmates applauding] 629 00:34:01,061 --> 00:34:03,581 [in Tagalog] I learned how to read and write 630 00:34:03,661 --> 00:34:07,741 with the help of my fellow prisoners. 631 00:34:07,821 --> 00:34:11,341 How long have you been in Manila Jail? 632 00:34:11,421 --> 00:34:14,101 I go back and forth here, but now it's been a month. 633 00:34:14,181 --> 00:34:16,581 You sound like you enjoy coming back and forth. 634 00:34:16,661 --> 00:34:20,221 Being free from here is a vacation. Jail is our real home. 635 00:34:20,741 --> 00:34:23,701 To say that prison is your house… 636 00:34:24,941 --> 00:34:26,981 is sad to hear. 637 00:34:27,061 --> 00:34:30,781 Surely, you could have a better life outside than you can in here. 638 00:34:31,381 --> 00:34:32,661 Nobody helps us. 639 00:34:32,741 --> 00:34:35,341 My family doesn't have money. My wife doesn't have money. 640 00:34:35,421 --> 00:34:39,341 So, how do you make money in here? Do you make money in here? 641 00:34:39,421 --> 00:34:42,301 Yes, I have a business lending money. 642 00:34:42,381 --> 00:34:44,901 Do you make good money from this business? 643 00:34:44,981 --> 00:34:49,301 It can be frustrating because sometimes people cannot pay. 644 00:34:49,381 --> 00:34:52,981 So, what happens if somebody can't afford to pay you it back? 645 00:34:53,061 --> 00:34:57,101 We can't do anything about it. If you hurt them, you will have a problem. 646 00:34:57,181 --> 00:34:59,981 Thank you for sharing your rap, man. It was really good. 647 00:35:00,061 --> 00:35:01,661 It was nice to meet you, man. 648 00:35:01,741 --> 00:35:03,061 Take that skill outside. 649 00:35:03,141 --> 00:35:04,781 Use it outside, not in here. 650 00:35:05,701 --> 00:35:06,781 I can't promise you. 651 00:35:12,301 --> 00:35:14,101 I was shocked and saddened. 652 00:35:14,181 --> 00:35:17,101 This is what Suzuki considers home. 653 00:35:17,181 --> 00:35:18,861 But he can't cope out there. 654 00:35:18,941 --> 00:35:20,621 But he's very proud of the fact 655 00:35:20,701 --> 00:35:23,021 that he learned to read and write in prison, 656 00:35:23,101 --> 00:35:26,541 and he's gonna go out with something he didn't have before. 657 00:35:27,141 --> 00:35:29,061 I think that's the most important point. 658 00:35:29,141 --> 00:35:32,061 They are working together to survive. 659 00:35:32,661 --> 00:35:34,221 To educate themselves. 660 00:35:35,421 --> 00:35:36,901 And that is impressive. 661 00:35:36,981 --> 00:35:39,221 [pensive music plays] 662 00:35:54,461 --> 00:35:56,461 [moody music plays] 663 00:35:58,501 --> 00:36:01,021 Despite the apparent calm in this prison, 664 00:36:01,101 --> 00:36:06,661 the Bahala Na gang is one of several rival criminal gangs in here. 665 00:36:07,381 --> 00:36:10,101 And just like everywhere else in the world, 666 00:36:10,181 --> 00:36:13,421 when gangs fall out, violence erupts. 667 00:36:16,501 --> 00:36:21,221 Six months ago, war broke out between two rival gangs in this prison. 668 00:36:21,301 --> 00:36:23,781 Thirty-two prisoners were injured, 669 00:36:23,861 --> 00:36:28,101 and the Sputnik gang murdered two of the BCJ gang. 670 00:36:28,781 --> 00:36:30,381 [indistinct chattering] 671 00:36:35,221 --> 00:36:37,341 I'm Raphael. How are you doing? 672 00:36:37,421 --> 00:36:39,781 -So, you're from the BCJ? -Yes, sir. 673 00:36:39,861 --> 00:36:42,741 Two of Ryan's gang, the BCJ, 674 00:36:42,821 --> 00:36:47,021 were murdered by their rivals, the Sputnik gang, in the riot. 675 00:36:47,101 --> 00:36:48,061 [Rowe] Sputnik. 676 00:36:48,141 --> 00:36:49,741 [Ryan] The fight happened here. 677 00:36:49,821 --> 00:36:52,221 -[Rowe] Everything's fine now? -It's fine now. 678 00:36:52,301 --> 00:36:55,661 [in Tagalog] Sometimes, it gets intense, but we fix it right away. 679 00:36:55,741 --> 00:36:57,981 [Rowe] What happens when they get aggressive? 680 00:36:58,061 --> 00:36:59,901 [Ryan] We communicate. 681 00:36:59,981 --> 00:37:01,461 We get ahead of it. 682 00:37:01,541 --> 00:37:04,581 We talk it out and immediately try to resolve it. 683 00:37:05,421 --> 00:37:08,661 Okay. You show me… Introduce me to the mayore upstairs. 684 00:37:10,901 --> 00:37:14,181 Ryan has invited me along to his regular meeting 685 00:37:14,261 --> 00:37:18,261 with the Sputnik gang leaders, Ferdi and Jonathan. 686 00:37:18,941 --> 00:37:22,901 [Rowe] What can you tell me about what happened on that day? 687 00:37:23,661 --> 00:37:28,341 [in Tagalog] What I saw was really like war. 688 00:37:28,421 --> 00:37:30,101 I couldn't stop my comrades. 689 00:37:31,021 --> 00:37:35,901 Did the BCJ then seek revenge for the death of two of their comrades? 690 00:37:35,981 --> 00:37:37,461 [Ferdi] No, sir, not anymore. 691 00:37:37,541 --> 00:37:41,021 When it happened, we took care of the needs of those the dead left behind, 692 00:37:41,101 --> 00:37:43,621 the funeral and the expenses during their wake. 693 00:37:43,701 --> 00:37:46,341 The groups are set aside now. 694 00:37:46,421 --> 00:37:48,581 We are brothers. That event became a lesson. 695 00:37:48,661 --> 00:37:50,781 Even a small problem, we talk about it. 696 00:37:50,861 --> 00:37:52,661 A misunderstanding, we fix it. 697 00:37:52,741 --> 00:37:55,501 They are responsible to fix their comrades' problems. 698 00:37:55,581 --> 00:37:56,741 It's the same with us. 699 00:37:57,981 --> 00:37:59,661 Okay, thank you for sharing that. 700 00:38:00,581 --> 00:38:04,181 The death of two prisoners is a stark reminder 701 00:38:04,261 --> 00:38:08,701 that this, and these conditions… 702 00:38:09,741 --> 00:38:12,261 have a volatile tendency. 703 00:38:12,901 --> 00:38:15,661 So the threat is always present, 704 00:38:15,741 --> 00:38:17,221 the threat is always real… 705 00:38:18,061 --> 00:38:20,101 that what happened a few months ago, 706 00:38:20,181 --> 00:38:22,261 where two men lost their lives, 707 00:38:22,341 --> 00:38:24,501 could happen again. 708 00:38:25,221 --> 00:38:27,141 [tense music plays] 709 00:38:33,261 --> 00:38:36,981 This afternoon, I'm catching up with my dormmate Jin. 710 00:38:37,061 --> 00:38:38,861 [in English] Give him the ball. Okay. 711 00:38:40,301 --> 00:38:42,141 [inmates cheering, applaud] 712 00:38:43,581 --> 00:38:44,461 [Jin chuckles] 713 00:38:44,541 --> 00:38:47,021 One of the problems of overcrowding 714 00:38:47,101 --> 00:38:50,741 is that there's no space for inmates to let off steam. 715 00:38:52,741 --> 00:38:56,541 But the Bahala Na gang has a solution for that. 716 00:38:57,181 --> 00:39:00,141 Every week, they lay on an exercise class, 717 00:39:00,221 --> 00:39:02,141 and the whole block joins in. 718 00:39:02,781 --> 00:39:03,821 [upbeat music plays] 719 00:39:03,901 --> 00:39:05,661 -[inmates chanting] -[Jin] Clap. 720 00:39:08,501 --> 00:39:10,541 -[Jin] Clap. -[inmates chanting] 721 00:39:11,141 --> 00:39:12,261 Clap. Come on. 722 00:39:12,341 --> 00:39:13,861 [instructor] Are you enjoying? 723 00:39:13,941 --> 00:39:16,261 -[cheering] Yeah! -[instructor] Are you happy? 724 00:39:16,341 --> 00:39:17,701 [all cheering] Yes! 725 00:39:17,781 --> 00:39:19,581 [all chanting, laughing] 726 00:39:19,661 --> 00:39:23,301 I've never seen a prison guard dance on duty before. 727 00:39:23,381 --> 00:39:24,461 [chanting continues] 728 00:39:28,221 --> 00:39:29,541 [all cheering] 729 00:39:29,621 --> 00:39:32,181 -[instructor] Are you happy? -[all cheering] Yeah! 730 00:39:32,261 --> 00:39:34,861 -[all applauding] -[instructor] All right. 731 00:39:34,941 --> 00:39:36,261 [inmates chanting] More! 732 00:39:36,341 --> 00:39:39,501 No more for me, man. That's me, done. 733 00:39:39,581 --> 00:39:42,101 [instructor] Long live the Filipino community! 734 00:39:42,181 --> 00:39:43,341 [inmates cheer] 735 00:39:43,421 --> 00:39:46,861 [in Tagalog] It helps us to forget our problems in prison. 736 00:39:46,941 --> 00:39:52,381 The Zumba keeps us inspired and stops us from worrying about our families, 737 00:39:52,461 --> 00:39:54,421 from thinking about our loved ones. 738 00:39:54,501 --> 00:39:56,941 Okay, man, look, good seeing you again. 739 00:39:57,021 --> 00:39:59,901 In a place that can often be quite tense 740 00:39:59,981 --> 00:40:01,221 and depressing, 741 00:40:02,461 --> 00:40:06,341 it's amazing what a little bit of music, a little bit of atmosphere… 742 00:40:07,461 --> 00:40:10,541 and a little bit of participation can do. 743 00:40:11,981 --> 00:40:16,181 It makes for a much less volatile environment. 744 00:40:18,821 --> 00:40:21,101 [tense music plays] 745 00:40:23,901 --> 00:40:28,661 It's my sixth day inside one of the most overcrowded prisons in the world. 746 00:40:29,301 --> 00:40:32,181 Today, I'm swapping sides and joining the guards 747 00:40:32,261 --> 00:40:36,461 for a cell block search with Senior Officer Hakabe 748 00:40:36,541 --> 00:40:40,101 and Head of Security, Inspector Malamata. 749 00:40:40,181 --> 00:40:42,661 And what are you hoping to find in these searches? 750 00:40:42,741 --> 00:40:45,221 Illegal contrabands, drugs. 751 00:40:45,301 --> 00:40:47,141 Most of the prison is run 752 00:40:47,741 --> 00:40:50,621 with this shared governance approach. 753 00:40:50,701 --> 00:40:53,501 Is it… Is that also… 754 00:40:54,181 --> 00:40:56,341 involved in how you carry out your searches? 755 00:40:56,901 --> 00:41:01,061 So we basically empower those cell leaders, 756 00:41:01,141 --> 00:41:05,341 and become our shared governance or our partners, 757 00:41:05,421 --> 00:41:09,101 so that they will be the one managing their whole cell. 758 00:41:09,181 --> 00:41:10,541 [instructor] Right! 759 00:41:10,621 --> 00:41:15,581 They are so understaffed here that the prison drafts in trainee guards 760 00:41:15,661 --> 00:41:18,541 to help them do dorm searches safely. 761 00:41:18,621 --> 00:41:23,061 The new recruits are gonna conduct their search here today. 762 00:41:23,141 --> 00:41:25,621 Um, they seem very militaristic. 763 00:41:25,701 --> 00:41:28,541 It must be a warning sign to all the prisoners 764 00:41:28,621 --> 00:41:32,901 when they see this line of officers 765 00:41:32,981 --> 00:41:37,141 in black T-shirts and combat shorts entering their dormitory 766 00:41:37,221 --> 00:41:39,981 that a search is about to take place. 767 00:41:41,101 --> 00:41:44,261 First, the inmates are ordered outside. 768 00:41:44,341 --> 00:41:47,581 Searching the prisoners before they're removed from the dormitory 769 00:41:47,661 --> 00:41:50,061 to make sure they're not taking the contraband 770 00:41:50,141 --> 00:41:51,741 they're looking for outside. 771 00:41:51,821 --> 00:41:56,741 Unbelievably, the prison guards ask the gang boss, T, 772 00:41:56,821 --> 00:41:59,021 for permission to search the dorm. 773 00:42:00,021 --> 00:42:02,061 It seems that the responsibility 774 00:42:02,141 --> 00:42:05,581 for keeping the prison free of contraband is shared. 775 00:42:06,301 --> 00:42:08,061 [Rowe] Does this happen very often, 776 00:42:08,141 --> 00:42:13,181 where the guards come in and they search the dormitory? 777 00:42:13,261 --> 00:42:15,941 It happens often, 778 00:42:17,021 --> 00:42:24,021 usually two to three times a month. The warden told us, the mayores, 779 00:42:24,101 --> 00:42:25,901 we need to clean up the dormitories. 780 00:42:25,981 --> 00:42:28,021 All mayores are given the responsibility 781 00:42:28,101 --> 00:42:31,541 to clean the City Jail, to make it drug free. 782 00:42:31,621 --> 00:42:35,461 [Rowe] How do you feel about that, and how do the prisoners feel about that? 783 00:42:35,541 --> 00:42:40,141 [T] I am a little nervous, because they might find something. 784 00:42:40,221 --> 00:42:42,221 [Rowe] What do you mean, you get nervous? 785 00:42:42,301 --> 00:42:46,581 [T] I will be the one at risk. As their mayores, 786 00:42:46,661 --> 00:42:49,501 it is my responsibility. No one should disobey me. 787 00:42:49,581 --> 00:42:52,861 If there is someone who doesn't do what I say, 788 00:42:52,941 --> 00:42:54,861 I surrender them to the prison guards. 789 00:42:57,061 --> 00:43:00,301 The search is over, and the guards examine the haul. 790 00:43:00,381 --> 00:43:03,541 It's just extraordinary in this prison, 791 00:43:03,621 --> 00:43:05,981 a criminal gang leader, not the guards, 792 00:43:06,061 --> 00:43:09,221 is the one that is really keeping this dorm clean. 793 00:43:10,741 --> 00:43:13,261 -[Rowe] This is the search spoils. -[Malamata] Yes. 794 00:43:13,341 --> 00:43:18,981 What would you say is the most serious piece of contraband? 795 00:43:19,061 --> 00:43:21,781 -[Malamata] This small pen. -Are they not allowed pens? 796 00:43:21,861 --> 00:43:25,061 Yes, because they can use this to stab. 797 00:43:25,861 --> 00:43:27,381 -Right. Okay. -For a PDL. 798 00:43:27,461 --> 00:43:29,301 So that, uh, they're not-- 799 00:43:29,381 --> 00:43:32,021 [Rowe] You consider a pen to be a dangerous weapon? 800 00:43:32,101 --> 00:43:35,061 Yes, because they can use it as a deadly weapon. 801 00:43:35,141 --> 00:43:38,021 -But this is… This, can I touch it? -[Malamata] Yes. 802 00:43:38,101 --> 00:43:40,341 But this is surely more dangerous than a pen. 803 00:43:40,421 --> 00:43:43,701 -Yes, yes. It is also a dangerous one. -[Rowe] Okay. 804 00:43:45,181 --> 00:43:47,421 Searching prisoners 805 00:43:47,501 --> 00:43:50,621 is commonplace in prisons around the world. 806 00:43:50,701 --> 00:43:53,421 I spoke to the main man in the dorm, 807 00:43:53,501 --> 00:43:56,741 and he said that he himself and his team 808 00:43:56,821 --> 00:43:59,341 themselves carry out searches of prisoners. 809 00:43:59,421 --> 00:44:00,381 Unheard of. 810 00:44:00,461 --> 00:44:03,021 He was more concerned about the consequences 811 00:44:03,101 --> 00:44:04,981 of anything being found, 812 00:44:05,061 --> 00:44:07,581 either directly on him or his dorm. 813 00:44:07,661 --> 00:44:09,101 [speaking Tagalog] 814 00:44:12,421 --> 00:44:16,141 There's a lot at stake for the dorm leaders like T. 815 00:44:16,221 --> 00:44:19,621 Step out of line, and the guards will replace them, 816 00:44:19,701 --> 00:44:24,021 and that means losing all the privileges that come with their rank. 817 00:44:27,061 --> 00:44:29,421 Despite the severe lack of money, 818 00:44:29,501 --> 00:44:32,741 the prison do run some rehabilitation courses 819 00:44:32,821 --> 00:44:34,341 to help prisoners break away 820 00:44:34,421 --> 00:44:36,381 from drug crime. 821 00:44:40,101 --> 00:44:42,101 -[Rowe] How are you doing? -Fine, thanks. 822 00:44:42,181 --> 00:44:45,861 This course is being overseen by guard Achapero. 823 00:44:45,941 --> 00:44:48,261 This is what we call the livelihood program. 824 00:44:48,341 --> 00:44:50,701 They will do massage therapy. 825 00:44:50,781 --> 00:44:53,461 Then when they're released from this jail, 826 00:44:54,101 --> 00:44:56,141 they will have an extra income. 827 00:44:56,221 --> 00:45:00,061 And to become also law-abiding and productive citizens. 828 00:45:00,621 --> 00:45:02,781 [in Tagalog] First, sir, sit there. 829 00:45:02,861 --> 00:45:05,061 -[Rowe] Okay. -And remove your shirt. 830 00:45:05,141 --> 00:45:06,101 Remove my shirt. 831 00:45:10,981 --> 00:45:12,301 [Edison] Cold pressure. 832 00:45:12,381 --> 00:45:15,061 -[Rowe] You feel the bubble. Like a knot. -Yeah. 833 00:45:15,141 --> 00:45:17,341 -How long have you been doing it? -Five days. 834 00:45:17,421 --> 00:45:19,581 How long have you been in prison? 835 00:45:20,541 --> 00:45:22,621 -Almost one year, sir. -Almost one year. 836 00:45:22,701 --> 00:45:24,581 What are your charges? 837 00:45:24,661 --> 00:45:25,621 Drugs, sir. 838 00:45:26,181 --> 00:45:27,381 What drug was it? 839 00:45:28,741 --> 00:45:29,661 Shabu. 840 00:45:29,741 --> 00:45:31,021 Shabu as in meth. 841 00:45:32,621 --> 00:45:34,341 And why did that happen to you? 842 00:45:35,141 --> 00:45:36,781 [Edison] Because of the quota. 843 00:45:37,621 --> 00:45:40,781 It's widely alleged Filipino police 844 00:45:40,861 --> 00:45:44,941 have to make a minimum number of drug arrests every day, 845 00:45:45,021 --> 00:45:49,221 causing corrupt officers to set up innocent people. 846 00:45:50,461 --> 00:45:54,181 We were stopped by the police, sir. We were just riding our motorcycle. 847 00:45:55,141 --> 00:45:57,301 -Did you have drugs on you? -No, sir. 848 00:45:57,381 --> 00:46:00,181 They didn't get anything from us. They just planted it. 849 00:46:01,661 --> 00:46:06,621 When I was arrested, they said, "Just confess, 850 00:46:06,701 --> 00:46:09,501 and you will only get a six month sentence." 851 00:46:09,581 --> 00:46:13,501 So, innocent men like you are just taken off of the street and put in prison? 852 00:46:14,261 --> 00:46:16,621 Yes, sir. A lot of us have a case like this. 853 00:46:17,501 --> 00:46:21,781 Sir, even if we get angry, we're stuck here. 854 00:46:21,861 --> 00:46:23,381 We just accept it. 855 00:46:23,461 --> 00:46:26,301 [Rowe] So you think this will offer you another opportunity. 856 00:46:26,381 --> 00:46:27,621 [in English] Yes. 857 00:46:27,701 --> 00:46:30,461 [in Tagalog] If I go to another country, I can use this. 858 00:46:32,101 --> 00:46:33,941 [Edison] All right, powder, sir. 859 00:46:35,381 --> 00:46:38,741 [Rowe] That was very good. So you're learning well. 860 00:46:41,421 --> 00:46:43,701 Your story is sad, if it's true. 861 00:46:43,781 --> 00:46:45,981 That is sad to hear. 862 00:46:46,061 --> 00:46:48,621 -Good luck, thanks for the massage. -Thank you, sir. 863 00:46:48,701 --> 00:46:51,901 If the police really are planting drugs on people 864 00:46:51,981 --> 00:46:55,461 to meet arrest targets as Edison alleges, 865 00:46:55,541 --> 00:46:58,221 then it's no wonder this prison is so full. 866 00:46:58,901 --> 00:47:02,181 And well-intentioned rehabilitation like this 867 00:47:02,261 --> 00:47:06,181 will struggle to have any impact on the overcrowding. 868 00:47:06,941 --> 00:47:09,861 Tomorrow, I'm going to get out. 869 00:47:09,941 --> 00:47:12,381 Thousands more will not. 870 00:47:17,861 --> 00:47:19,341 [mellow music plays] 871 00:47:21,701 --> 00:47:24,701 It's my final day in Manila City Jail. 872 00:47:28,741 --> 00:47:32,701 With so much overcrowding and so few resources, 873 00:47:32,781 --> 00:47:36,701 I want to understand what the future holds for this jail. 874 00:47:37,461 --> 00:47:38,421 Aye aye. 875 00:47:39,421 --> 00:47:42,141 -Sir. Good afternoon. -Warden Latoza, nice to meet you. 876 00:47:42,221 --> 00:47:46,341 I'm meeting with the prison director, Warden Latoza. 877 00:47:46,421 --> 00:47:48,901 It's obvious to me from what I've seen 878 00:47:48,981 --> 00:47:51,221 that there is an issue around overcrowding. 879 00:47:51,301 --> 00:47:57,141 Ideally, this facility should only cater to 1,200 people. 880 00:47:57,221 --> 00:48:00,981 But now we are having almost 5,000. That's a challenge for us. 881 00:48:01,501 --> 00:48:06,621 Seventy-two percent of people detained here are facing drug charges. 882 00:48:06,701 --> 00:48:11,901 Forty to 50 percent are reoffenders, and that's a big problem for us, 883 00:48:12,501 --> 00:48:16,581 because sometimes when people who don't have a sense of family outside, 884 00:48:16,661 --> 00:48:18,701 when they get out, they would rather, 885 00:48:18,781 --> 00:48:23,621 "Oh, I want to commit crime. I don't have anything to do to survive." 886 00:48:23,701 --> 00:48:27,981 "I can still commit crime because when I am caught, I go back to jail." 887 00:48:28,061 --> 00:48:30,341 "My family is there, I have a gang inside." 888 00:48:30,421 --> 00:48:34,181 It's a vicious cycle of people going in jail. 889 00:48:34,261 --> 00:48:36,861 -That's a sad state of affairs. -That's a sad… Yeah. 890 00:48:37,461 --> 00:48:41,181 Shared governance is something I've heard around the prison quite frequently. 891 00:48:41,261 --> 00:48:44,341 How did it come about, and why is it necessary? 892 00:48:44,421 --> 00:48:47,741 Actually, the shared governance concept here in the jail 893 00:48:47,821 --> 00:48:51,821 is just the coping mechanism to the inadequacy of resources that we have. 894 00:48:51,901 --> 00:48:56,461 We could not have persons to manage in the dormitories. 895 00:48:56,541 --> 00:48:58,221 We have 14 dormitories. 896 00:48:58,301 --> 00:49:02,221 If we are going to put in personnel, staff, 897 00:49:02,781 --> 00:49:07,661 we don't have any guards to be designated in the towers. 898 00:49:08,221 --> 00:49:12,381 And what if they get over the fences, and they escape? 899 00:49:13,421 --> 00:49:14,941 [Rowe] Why do you do it, then, 900 00:49:15,021 --> 00:49:17,941 to do the job that you do, under the extreme conditions? 901 00:49:18,021 --> 00:49:20,621 At the end of the day, we are all human beings. 902 00:49:20,701 --> 00:49:25,621 These people also are victims, sometimes, of social injustices outside. 903 00:49:25,701 --> 00:49:28,741 My contribution now, as a person, 904 00:49:28,821 --> 00:49:33,581 is to help these people know if I have helped a person to renew his life, 905 00:49:33,661 --> 00:49:36,301 to have his character, uh, 906 00:49:36,381 --> 00:49:40,301 develop, then probably when they get out… 907 00:49:41,141 --> 00:49:42,541 they will not commit crime. 908 00:49:42,621 --> 00:49:44,461 And I don't want my children 909 00:49:44,541 --> 00:49:46,661 -to be victims of these people. -[Rowe] Mm. 910 00:49:47,301 --> 00:49:49,941 -Thank you. It's been very interesting. -Yes, sir. 911 00:49:50,021 --> 00:49:52,061 -Good luck with what you're doing. -Yes, sir. 912 00:49:53,941 --> 00:49:56,981 It's obvious the warden would like to do more, 913 00:49:57,061 --> 00:50:01,421 but with the sheer number of prisoners and such limited budget, 914 00:50:01,501 --> 00:50:03,901 the prison is overwhelmed. 915 00:50:06,261 --> 00:50:08,941 This is the end of my time in Manila City Jail, 916 00:50:09,021 --> 00:50:11,461 and it's clear to me that President Duterte 917 00:50:11,541 --> 00:50:15,061 and his government's uncompromising war on drugs 918 00:50:15,141 --> 00:50:17,701 has exacerbated overcrowding 919 00:50:17,781 --> 00:50:21,581 in what is already one of the most congested, underfunded, 920 00:50:21,661 --> 00:50:24,421 and primitive prisons I've ever seen. 921 00:50:24,501 --> 00:50:28,501 But despite this, management, gangs, and the inmate population 922 00:50:28,581 --> 00:50:33,061 seem to be coping with this approach to shared governance. 923 00:50:33,141 --> 00:50:36,461 For conditions to improve and rehabilitation to work, 924 00:50:36,541 --> 00:50:40,261 this place desperately needs investment and resources. 925 00:50:40,341 --> 00:50:43,101 [evocative music plays]