OBJECTIVE: Since foreign detainees suffer multiple stresses, this study was conducted to determine the socio-demographic profile of those at the Bureau of Immigration (BID) Jail in Bicutan, Taguig, and Metro Manila as well as identify some of their mental health problems.
METHODOLOGY: Foreign detainees at the BID Jail were interviewed. Their socio-demographic profile, length of stay in the Philippines and in jail, reason for travel, problems encountered, crimes committed and health problems encountered while in the country were tabulated. The Self- Reporting Questionnaire and the Anticipatory Cognition Questionnaire were used for identifying psychiatric problems.
RESULTS: Of the 42 subjects the mean age was 37 years old. The most predominant nationality among the detainees was that of Indians (26.2%). Among those who were married, 25 (83.3%) were married to Filipino citizens. The highest educational attainment of the subjects was college. The predominant religions were Islam and Christianity. Twenty-six (61.9%) have stayed in the Philippines for four years or more and 25 (59.5%) at the BID jail for less than a year. Among the reasons for travel, the most common reason given by 45.2 percent of the population was for business purposes. Problems encountered while in the Philippines pertained mostly to legal matters. Most of them were detained because of overstaying, with some having a concomitant criminal case. Half of the subjects denied having any medical problems other than dermatological illnesses (21.4%). More than half (52.4%) of the foreign detainees were SRQ positive while 50 percent showed depressive symptoms based on the ACQ, both suggesting the high prevalence of anxiety and depression among the detainees interviewed. Psychosis was also noted in 28.6 percent of the subjects included in the study.
CONCLUSION: Considering the high prevalence rates of depression, anxiety and psychosis among the subjects interviewed at the BID jail, it would be an act of medical negligence as well as a human rights violation not to address these while they are still detained at the BID jail.