Manila, Philippines – 20 August 2025 – Every year, thousands of people die while in custody in the Philippines. From January 2020 to June 2024 alone, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) recorded 4,636 prisoner deaths—a mortality rate over 2.5 times higher than in the general population. Most of these deaths were attributed to ‘natural causes’ without independent forensic verification. This lack of scrutiny raises concerns about prison conditions, foul play and healthcare in detention facilities.
Today, the way in which the Philippines addresses custodial deaths is being reshaped – and with it, the way that the Philippines manages prisons themselves. With support from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and funding from the Government of Japan, the country is institutionalizing mandatory autopsies for deaths in prison, ensuring that no death goes unexplained.
The urgency of institutionalized forensic autopsies became clear in October 2022, following the high-profile investigation into the assassination of journalist Percival Mabasa and subsequent death of an alleged middleman in BuCor custody. An independent autopsy revealed foul play in the prisoner’s death that would otherwise have gone unnoticed, underscoring the crucial role of independent forensic work on custodial deaths in ensuring accountability. Without prompt, standardized autopsies, cases like this risk being overlooked, allowing possible crimes to be missed.
But autopsies are not only about addressing crime. Since prison autopsies began on a larger scale, forensic pathologist Dr. Fortun, of the University of Philippines, noticed a worrying pattern: many prisoners are dying with tuberculosis (TB). Other signs, too, pointed to systemic issues and neglect.
“The fact that you’re seeing an emaciated prisoner – that’s bad, just in terms of nutrition alone. And then you’re seeing TB,” Fortun notes.
She emphasizes that this is a bigger problem than many realize. “What about the officials working there? They go home, and they bring the TB home with them.”
In 2023, with UNODC’s facilitation, BuCor adopted the Guidelines on Handling Custodial Deaths. By August 2024, the Department of Justice, BuCor, and the University of the Philippines Manila (UP Manila) signed an agreement institutionalizing mandatory autopsies for all deaths at the national penitentiary, demonstrating the strong will in the country to reform the prison and penal system.
To ensure these investigations happen promptly, UNODC brokered a standard operating procedure requiring the transfer of cadavers to UP Manila within the same day of death, before embalming or funeral handling can destroy vital forensic evidence. UNODC also donated mortuary equipment for autopsy and medical forensics to UP Manila in August 2025.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla called mandatory autopsies “a vital safeguard to ensure that no death in custody goes unexplained.”
“What may seem like a strictly clinical moment is in fact charged with compassion, because it affirms that every life deserves respect and dignity, even in death,” added Executive Secretary of the Philippines Lucas Bersamin.
What began as an urgent response to unexplained prison deaths is now reshaping the justice system. The infrastructure and procedures established for mandatory autopsies have also become part of the wider National Forensics Institute, launched at UP Manila in June 2025 under the UN Joint Programme on Human Rights. The equipment initially provided to investigate prison deaths now reinforces the UP Manila’s capacity to support investigations of all crimes, including murder, improving public safety.
Moreover, the donated mortuary equipment improves forensics education in the Philippines by facilitating the training and research of medical students, which will be further strengthened through a new partnership with Australia’s Monash University.
For UNODC, this intervention is closely tied to broader prison reform. As observed by Fortun, autopsy findings reveal not only causes of death but also the conditions inside detention facilities. This evidence can be used to drive prison reforms to reduce overcrowding and improve health services, infrastructure and management.
By linking forensic truth-telling with systemic reform, UNODC is helping authorities improve both accountability and the daily lives of prisoners.
Japan has been a consistent partner of the Philippines in promoting human rights–based prison reform, providing funding via UNODC and the Ministry of Justice to strengthen forensic capacity, promote non-custodial measures such as probation, and build institutional safeguards against custodial abuse.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime supports Philippine institutions in advancing criminal justice reform, promoting the rule of law, and upholding human rights. The Office supports prison and penal reform in the country, with a focus on decongestion and improved conditions.
The way we treat prisoners is key in making our communities safer and protecting human rights for all. UNODC works with over 50 Member States worldwide to advance non-custodial measures, improve prison management and conditions, and support social reintegration. Find out more.
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