What has been done:
Year three of our Community Bail Bond Program goes in full swing as we continue our advocacy addressing jail congestion and the 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.
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 1 CBB Participant from detention through bail. She joins the 86 other CBB Participants that have been released, all of whom we are assisting towards community reintegration.
We mourn the passing of one of our CBB Participants whom we have been trying to obtain early release. He was our oldest client at 89 years old and unfortunately, he had already been sentenced when he was referred to us. We tried to help obtain his early release for humanitarian reasons.
This past month was also a hectic one for our organization as we took full advantage of the month-long visit of our Chief Consultant, Dr. Raymund E. Narag. Our PRESO Board of Trustees was finally able to gather together in person after two years of mostly online Board Meetings.
We assembled 28 of our CBB Participants who were released through bail in order for Dr. Narag to personally meet and greet each of them. The “Kumustahan at Ugnayan sa Pagbabagong Buhay” activity included sharing by Dr. Narag and Bro. Toti Golingo to the participants.
We conducted a two-day workshop on “Principles of Effective Volunteerism in Corrections” to 58 participants from 16 different organizations aimed at developing holistic welfare and development programs for PDL.
Dr. Narag took full advantage of his homecoming with several meetings with noted organizations and government institutions to enable possible points of engagement with PRESO, Inc.
PRESO, Inc. was given recognition by the Rotary Club of Midtown, QC. during their handover ceremonies for their new officers. This was in connection with the “Padyak Pangkabuhayan” Project that they supported.
Our CBB Team was able to take time off from our busy schedules to conduct a much-needed team building activity.
PRESO, Inc. was able to inject new blood to its Board of Trustees as we welcomed two like-minded individuals. Atty. Melvin Calimag, who has been helping our Community Bail Bond Program as a volunteer lawyer for our clients with complicated cases, joins us as a new Board Member. Atty. Erwin Zagala, who has also been helping PRESO, Inc. behind the scenes through his Counsellor Institute, joins us as part of our group of Consultants headed by Dr. Raymund Narag.
As of July 1, there have been 274 individuals referred to our program coming from 18 jail facilities, 7 police stations, 3 youth centers, and 3 correctional facilities. Of this number 130 had been interviewed. Of the interviewed, 50 had been successfully bailed out while another 38 had been released through other legal means.
More significantly, we have a total of 13 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, capital assistance loans from our partner NGO have been settled, 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 1,240,250.00. 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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