What has been done:
For the month of November, there was no letting down in terms of our Community Bail Bond Program. We continued to coordinate with several jail facilities for referrals for bail and assistance with other forms of release. 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 becoming productive members of their communities.
Ten of our CBB Participants had scheduled hearings for the period covered. Four pushed through while the others were postponed/reset for various reasons.
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 2 CBB Participants from detention through bail and 1 CBB Participant was released on recognizance. They join the 152 other CBB Participants that have been released, all of whom we are assisting towards community reintegration.
Last November 10, our Executive Director, Ms. Tessie Gonez, joined other service providers at the BJMP National Capital Region Office for a ceremonial signing of the Memorandum of Agreement that renews the accreditation to conduct services for BJMP Jails for the next two years.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care (CBCP-ECPPC) held their 12th General Assembly of Jail/Prison Chaplains and Volunteers in Prison Service last November 13-17. The bi-annual event was participated in by about 260 chaplains and religious and lay volunteers from 53 diocese. Our PRESO, Inc. officers, Ms. Tessie Gomez and Mr. Derek Santos were guest speakers on “Understanding Criminogenic Risk Factors and Its Implications to Jail Volunteerism”.
We facilitated the donation of hygiene and sanitation kits from St. Paul University last November 20.
As of December 1, there have been 406 individuals referred to our program coming from 18 jail facilities, 7 police stations, 3 youth centers, and 3 correctional facilities. Of this number 213 had been interviewed. Of the interviewed, 105 had been successfully bailed out while another 50 had been released through other legal means.
More significantly, we have a total of 36 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 2,870,250.00. 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!
Kommentit