What has been done:
We close what has been another challenging, but definitely successful, year of our Community Bail Bond Program. What was initially intended to be a two-year program has yielded positive results such that another three years funding was guaranteed for the program. We are all the more emboldened in the coming year to further expand the program to benefit more PDL who deserve to be released from detention.
For the period covered, 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.
Our two partner organizations from Cagayan Provincial Jail and Cagayan De Oro City-VIPS continue their monitoring of CBB Participants from their respective areas as well as continue to screen referrals for possible assistance. We are extremely proud of how our program has expanded beyond the National Capital Region.
Seven of our CBB Participants had scheduled hearings for the period covered. Three hearings pushed through and four were postponed/reset.
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.
For this period, we were able to successfully release 6 CBB Participant from detention through bail and other means. They join the 116 other CBB Participants that have been released, all of whom we are assisting towards community reintegration.
Last December 5 we, our field officers attended the regular Service Providers meeting at Navotas City Jail Male Dorm.
Our Executive Director, Ms. Tessie D Gomez, was invited by the BJMP to give a talk as part of the celebration of National Volunteer Month in a webinar entitled “Volunteerism in Jail Management and Penology” held last December 6.
Our partnership with Knowledge Advocates of Volunteer Lawyers continued with the second Jail Legal Aid and Visitation activity, this time at Taguig City Jail. We are grateful to Atty. Juman Paa for his continued advocacy of providing legal counseling for PDL.
Our inter-jail rosary groups at 14 different jails were provided with a Christmas treat courtesy of Sanctuario de San Antonio, Makati. PDL taking part in the regular weekly rosary activity at the 14 jail facilities were provided with Christmas feasts for their respective parties.
Through the initiative of the warden of General Mariano Alvarez (GMA) Cavite District Jail, Supt. Christopher Penilla, several service providers were invited and given a presentation on the Community Bail Bond Program. Similar to our partnerships at Cagayan Province and Cagayan de Oro City, we hope to partner with an NGO/service provider who will conduct the bail process and monitoring of released PDL under CBB.
Several CBB applicants and participants with young children were provided with care packages in the spirit of Christmas. We continue to give thanks to our donors and friends who wish to remain anonymous. Their unfailing support in PRESO, Inc. allows us to continue with providing urgent and emergency assistance to PDL and their families during trying times.
We participated in several jail facilities that conducted PDL Wish Tree activities wherein humble wishes of gifts for Christmas, written by PDL, were provided by the different service providers of each jail facility. We provided gifts for PDL at 3 jail facilities.
As of December 30, there have been 348 individuals referred to our program coming from 18 jail facilities, 7 police stations, 3 youth centers, and 3 correctional facilities. Of this number 171 had been interviewed. Of the interviewed, 75 had been successfully bailed out while another 47 had been released through other legal means.
More significantly, we have a total of 27 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 1,759,550.00. 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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