In the notorious Philippine prison, 3-5 49,000 prisoners die every day, and the bodies lying in funeral homes are unclaimed!

About 3-5 inmates die in correctional services prisons nationwide every day, according to Philippine media reports, Department of Corrections spokesman Gabriel Chakraag (Gabriel Chaclag).

There are nearly 49,000 inmates in the country's prisons. Chakrag said most of the prisoners died of natural causes.

"'On average, 3-4 people die here every day, sometimes 5. There are 49,000 inmates in our correctional services nationwide, and these numbers are larger than the population of some cities. People really die every day!" Chakraag told reporters at a news conference at the New Bilibede prison in Montinlupa.

"There are old deaths and deaths. These are mainly from hospital records."

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, at least three inmates died in Correctional Services facilities every day, Department of Corrections officials said.

"I don't think there's going to be a big spike in the difference, really average. Even before the pandemic, it really was!" He said

One of the problems they face is the large number of unclaimed bodies in the funeral home, Chakrag said. He said the body was temporarily stored in an approved funeral home for up to five months. If the inmate's family still does not come to claim it, the body will be buried in NBP Cemetery.

He added, "It is a pity that some people have not been claimed, they have been forgotten, sometimes for six months. In some cases, 6-8 months later, (the family) came and we brought them in and we opened them where they were buried."

According to Chakrag, 50 bodies were buried unclaimed in NBP Cemetery in June, another 50 in July, 46 in August and 44 in September.