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Vice Blog

TRAVEL SHMAVEL - MORE FLIPPED OUT PRISON

A couple months back we dared Adam Jasper to visit a Filipino prison for our first themeless issue. It turned out the whole thing was kind of like a permanent, second-world slumber party. The prisoners were allowed to do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't try to bust out of jail. Anyway, here are a few interviews with people associated with the prison not included in the original piece…

I. INTERVIEW WITH THE MAYOR OF CEBU Throughout the last century, figures from my family have played a central role in Filipino politics, but we are not nepotistic, nor are we dictators. My family may be naturally disposed to politics. When I first came to office in 1987, I was coming back from exile in the United States. At first, people said, "Who do you think you are, just because you're the son of so and so, you can't run Cebu." But I got an audience; people listened to me. You see, criminality was really getting out of control. I said, "We don't have enough policemen. I said, "This is shit." I gave the people a real scolding. I said, "Look, I don't want to see you sitting around. Run after these guys. Form a hunter-killer group." That's where I got myself in trouble, using that military term, "hunter-killer group." I just meant, you know, run after them. Look for them. Be more aggressive. It was Christmas. I left for a week. While I was gone, the hunter-killer squads murdered ten criminals. In one week! When I came back I said, "What the hell is going on?" This is not exactly what I asked them to do. But I was faced with a predicament, because just after that first week, things had improved dramatically. And vigilantes were getting a lot of civilian support and growing. There were squads of ex-military men, some people who knew big banking. It was like in movies, exactly like that. So, I did what I had to do. I made no public statement saying, "There should be no more vigilantes." If I did that, the criminals would come back. It's a dilemma. I personally know of one situation. There was this robber that stole something, and the robber was caught by a vigilante and killed. The vigilantes said the robber was armed. Then he shot someone in front of my eyes and he was laughing, so I shot him. I gave him what he wanted. That's just one case I know of. That's how criminality operates. That's also how the vigilantes operate—an invisible chain or network. And this is very frustrating to us.

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II. INTERVIEW WITH FATHER TIMOTHY, ONE OF THE PRIESTS WHO RUNS THE MINISTRY INSIDE THE JAIL When the modern jail first opened there were 18 unexplained deaths in the first two months. It was a kind of mysterious thing. Not even the doctors could explain it. These people would wake up in the morning normal, and at the end of the day they would be dead. Doctors conducted autopsies, but they could not explain the reason they died. Most of them were young—below 30. Healthy, young people. Also, every night on the monitor connected to the main building, the guards used to see a lady in white coming in and going out of the jail. Also, they saw cats going in and out. It is unexplainable, because the building is very high and the walls are very tall. No one could walk in, cat or human. When the guards would see this white image in the monitor and these cats roaming around, they were very terrified. I don't know who the white lady was. She could be a demonic power. But it was very clearly seen in the monitor. Then we had this pray over. During it, we blessed the whole prison: each brigade, each room, and each office. We went around and said an exorcism prayer composed by Pope Pious XII. It goes for about 10 minutes, takes into consideration all evil attacks and demons, etc. After the blessing, I had a vision of about 52 children crawling on the floor, trying to make their way out of the place. And then, we didn't have any more deaths in the whole place. And the guards no longer saw the white lady on the monitor and there were no longer any cats in the compound. Doctors have no explanation but locals do. You see, the prison was built on a dumping field from the war. Many bodies were dumped on this site. By the NPA, by everybody—the situation was very chaotic. Also, a lot of abortions were taken there, and maybe people who were not ready to die.

III. INTERVIEW WITH THE PRISON DOCTOR, DR. RUIZ I am Dr. Ruiz. I'm a specialist in special therapeutics therapy. I trained in Japan. I can diagnose any disease that you have by touching your feet. I am in jail because I practiced without a medical certificate. It is not a crime to do that, but the other doctors were very jealous. They sent assassins to kill me. So I took a rifle, fled to the mountains, and defended myself. I still practice medicine, even here in prison. I am the best. The prison doctors here are very envious of me. They give people pills and they are not cured. Then people come to me, I diagnose correctly, and I cure. For example, you. Give me your foot. Yes… yes, OK. You have a sclerosis of your spine on the third vertebrae from the base. You have tension. Also, you have gastric problems: diarrhea, something horrid. But don't worry, it's not chronic. Liver's healthy. Kidney's healthy. Heart's healthy. Death is a long way off.

IV. INTERVIEW WITH AN INMATE, SEYMORE I've been to school and stuff. I used to work in a tattoo parlor, and I worked in a call center. Actually, it's right across the road. On the 28th of December 2006, I was looking forward to a nice time with my girlfriend, but I found out she up and left me. She got back together with an old boyfriend from five years before. They'd been seeing each other, like, all through December. I wouldn't let go. I found out where they were staying, and I tried to woo her back. He got real mad and came after me. He broke into my apartment with a gun. There was a bad fight, and somehow I got the gun and I shot him. He survived… I never meant for it to happen. I was pretty shocked when the gun went off. My hand is burnt because, ah, when the police caught me, they gave me a paraffin test to see if I had used a firearm. Normally the wax is supposed to be cooled before they put it on your skin, but they heated it up too much. These are second-degree burns. They did it on purpose. It's a punishment for trying to run away from the police. Yes, it hurts.
ADAM JASPER