What has been done:
Sixteen months into our Community Bail Bond Program and we continue to persevere amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in helping Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) and Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL) obtain early release from detention through bail and other methods of release. We grow more and more concerned as court hearings, already moving at a snail’s pace during pre-pandemic times have now almost come to a standstill with whatever scheduled hearing being postponed or reset. 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.
Aside from the weekly monitoring of released CBB Participants, our Program Field Officers likewise were unfailing in attending court hearings, coordinating with barangay officials & PAO lawyers, and the processing of bail. We also provided crisis intervention assistance to some of our CBB Participants who are struggling brought about by the ongoing pandemic.
For this period were able to successfully release 2 CBB Participants from detention through bail. They join the 66 other CBB Participants that have been released, all of whom we are assisting towards community reintegration.
We concluded our partnership with IDEALS, Inc. after a year of collaboration in addressing the needs of PDL and CICL with non-bailable and complex cases.
We facilitated interviews with another four of our released CBB participants as part of an ongoing research study on the significance of family support for released PDL being developed by Prof. Raymund Narag and his colleague Ms. Rachel Reardon for Southern Illinois University.
Professor Raymund E. Narag continued his series of trainings on Restorative Justice, this time for the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council.
PRESO, Inc. also helped facilitate several activities for our other partner NGO’s that provide interventions for PDL while in detention. Ms. Tess Gomez, PRESO, Inc. Executive Director was also invited as a resource person for the Parole and Probation Administration (PPA).
As of October 2, there have been 208 individuals referred to our program coming from 18 jail facilities, 7 police stations, 3 youth centers, and 3 correctional facilities. Of this number 109 had been interviewed. Of the interviewed, 33 had been successfully bailed out while another 35 had been released through other legal means. 6 had their cases dismissed, 6 are on provisionary dismissal, 4 were successfully referred to probation, 1 was released on recognizance, 21 have since served their sentences, 4 have been acquitted, and 1 CICL was accepted into the diversion program. The rest are still in jail hoping to be granted early release. Of the 66 released, 63 had been reintegrated to their respective families and communities.
More significantly, we have a total of 10 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 806,750.00. 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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