What has been done:
We continue our advocacy addressing jail congestion and delays in resolution of cases for persons deprived of liberty (PDL). The Community Bail Bond Program is a holistic program that incorporates risk and needs assessment of applicants as well as post release interventions to ensure their full reintegration into their communities upon release. More than ever our CBB Program has become a beacon of hope for deserving PDL and CICL. Our CBB Program Field Officers were unfailing in their duties of conducting weekly monitoring/home visits of referrals & successfully released participants, attending court hearings, coordinating with barangay officials & PAO lawyers, and the processing of bail.
For this period covered, our Program Field Officers went about their regular duties conducting weekly monitoring/home visits of referrals & successfully released participants.
Aside from the weekly monitoring of our released Participants, our Program Field Officers likewise were unfailing in attending court hearings, coordinating with barangay officials & PAO lawyers, and the processing of bail.
For this period, we were able to successfully release 2 CBB Participant from detention through bail. They joins the 88 other CBB Participants that have been released, all of whom we are assisting towards community reintegration.
We continue engaging with other stakeholders in the criminal justice system. Last July 4 we met with the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) and presented our Community Bail Bond Program. We also discussed possible strategies towards alternatives to pre-trial detention and agreed to continue collaborating with each other towards developing future projects.
We attended the monthly Manila City Jail Male Dorm’s service providers meeting last July 11.
Last July 30, our Community Bail Bond Program was highlighted as part of a lecture series conducted by the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) entitled “Kalayaan at Dangal: the Case for Community Bail Bond in the Philippine Criminal Justice System”.
PRESO, Inc. was also invited by Rotary International during their 39th Induction Ceremony last July 30.
Our partners from El Proveedores Foundation met with us last August 1 to discuss new protocols they are implementing for their various assistance programs for PDL and other marginalized persons.
We are grateful to the management of Caloocan City Jail Male Dorm for inviting us to present our Community Bail Bond Program to their PDL last August 5. We look forward to more engagements with them for possible CBB participants.
of August 5, there have been 292 individuals referred to our program coming from 18 jail facilities, 7 police stations, 3 youth centers, and 3 correctional facilities. Of this number 135 had been interviewed. Of the interviewed, 52 had been successfully bailed out while another 38 had been released through other legal means.
More significantly, we have a total of 21 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 1,311,800.00. 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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