What has been done:
For the month of March our Community Bail Bond Program continued to reach more PDL who deserve to be released from detention. Our Program Field Officers continued with their regular activities that included conducting weekly monitoring/home visits of successfully released participants, providing guidance and updating the steps they are taking towards reintegration.
Aside from the weekly monitoring of our released Participants, our Program Field Officers likewise were unfailing in conducting initial home and barangay visits for applicants, coordinating with barangay officials & PAO lawyers, and the processing of bail for CBB Applicants.
Twelve of our CBB Participants had scheduled hearings for the period covered. Eight hearings pushed through while the other four were postponed/reset for various reasons.
For this period, we were able to successfully release 4 CBB Participants from detention. Three was released through bail and another had served his sentence. They join the 166 other CBB Participants that have been released, all of whom we are assisting towards community reintegration.
For the period covered our Program Field Officers attended regular service providers meetings at selected NCR Jails including a meet and greet session for the new warden of Quezon City Jail Male Dorm, Supt. Warren Geronimo. We were also invited to a similar meet and greet at the NCR Regional Office for the newly designated Chief of the Regional Welfare and Development Division, Supt. Ma. Lourdes Pacion.
A special meeting of the PRESO Board of Directors was conducted in order to discuss pressing matters and to plot the course of the organization. We likewise took part in the first face to face General Assembly of the Coalition Against Death Penalty (CADP) since the end of the pandemic. CADP elected its’ new Board members as well as conducted a focus group discussion among its members as to the future plans of the Coalition.
Our long-time partner, El Proveedores Foundation held their 9th General Assembly and we were fortunate for having been recognized together with several of their other partners during the gathering.
We likewise took part in the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care (CBCP-ECPPC) 49th Anniversary celebration.
As of March 29, there have been 445 individuals referred to our program coming from 18 jail facilities, 7 police stations, 3 youth centers, and 3 correctional facilities. Of this number 226 had been interviewed. Of the interviewed, 113 had been successfully bailed out while another 53 had been released through other legal means.
More significantly, we have a total of 42 CBB Participants who have successfully graduated from the CBB Program. We consider participants as having successfully graduated from the Program after their cases have been closed, and at least another six months of monitoring have elapsed. Throughout this period, they must have shown to be responsible members of their community and can lead productive lives.
With their release, the government has now saved Php 3,351,080.00. This is computed by adding the amount budgeted per day (PhP70 for food) per PDL multiplied by the number of days since the day of the release from jail of every individual Participant. These savings will increase as days go by and as long as their cases are not terminated. For those whose cases are dismissed, served early or whose probation was approved, we expect a savings of least 60 days of non-incarceration.
Additionally, on top of the food savings by the government, these individuals are now back to the community and actively engaged in their livelihood- hence contributing to the economy. We minimized their exposure to the criminogenic jail environment leading to better reentry to the society as responsible members.
As we forge ahead with our Community Bail Bond Program, we continue to learn and re-learn approaches and procedures. And this is a welcome experience for us. We envision that more PDLs and CICLs would be assisted soon with their liberties restored, their dignity regained and that their lives are eventually rebuilt. We as a community have a significant role in all these. In the long run, support for our prisons and prisoners as a whole would benefit all of society in terms of lower rates of recidivism and increased sense of public safety. GOD IS ON OUR SIDE!
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