3,800 Inmates Crammed Into a Philippine Jail Built for 800

Alan Taylor
August 3, 2016
23 Photos
In Focus

The new president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, assumed office on June 30, quickly ordering a renewed crackdown on illegal drugs and drug-related crimes. The immediate results have been more than 400 deaths, and thousands of arrests, driving more prisoners into an already crowded and strained system. For example, in Manila’s Quezon City jail, 3,800 inmates are now stuffed into a facility built to house just 800. According to AFP reporter Ayee Macaraig, the incarcerated men “engage in a relentless contest for space... taking turns sleeping on the cracked cement floor of an open-air basketball court, the steps of staircases, underneath beds and hammocks made out of old blankets.” AFP photographer Noel Celis recently captured the following scenes from just one of the Philippines’ many overcrowded jails.

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Inmates sleep on the steps of a staircase inside the Quezon City jail at night in Manila on July 21, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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A prison guard locks a gate inside the crowded Quezon City jail on July 21, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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Inmates peek from their cell in the Quezon City Jail on July 18, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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Handcuffs hang inside the Quezon City jail on July 29, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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Dozens of inmates sleep on the ground of an open basketball court inside the Quezon City jail on July 21, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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Inmates line up to attend their trial at the Quezon City regional trial court in Manila on July 29, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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Inmates ride on a prison bus to attend their trial at the Quezon City regional trial court in Manila on July 29, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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Inmates that are to appear in court for their trial are rounded up at the Quezon City Jail on July 29, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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Inmates rest in their sleeping quarters inside Quezon City jail on July 18, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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Inmates rest piled on top of each other in their sleeping quarters in Quezon City jail on July 18, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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Inmates that are to appear in court for their trial are rounded up at the Quezon City Jail on July 29, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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Inmates sleep on the ground of an open basketball court in Quezon City jail on July 21, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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An inmate gets a haircut in Quezon City Jail on July 18, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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Inmates participate in a group dance contest on July 18, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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Inmates sleep on the ground of an open basketball court on July 21, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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Inmates sleep on the ground of an open basketball court in Quezon City jail on July 21, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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In this photo taken on July 19, 2016, inmates sleep on the ground of an open basketball court inside the Quezon City jail. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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An inmate cooks his dinner as other detainees take a bath inside the Quezon City jail on July 21, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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Inmates rest in their sleeping quarters inside the Quezon City jail on July 18, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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In this photo taken on July 21, 2016 inmates sleep on the ground inside Quezon City jail in Manila. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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Inmates sleep on the steps of a staircase inside the crowded Quezon City jail on July 18, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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In this photo taken on July 21, 2016, inmates sleep on the ground inside the Quezon City jail. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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inmates sleep on the ground of an open basketball court in the crowded Quezon City jail in Manila on July 21, 2016. #

Noel Celis / AFP / Getty

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