What has been done:
One year and six months into our Community Bail Bond Program and we continue to persevere 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. The 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 Participant from detention through bail. They join the 69 other CBB Participants that have been released, all of whom we are assisting towards community reintegration
After the renewal of our service provider status for all NCR jails last month, we participated in a meeting of all accredited service providers of Manila City Jail Male Dorm to hosted by their Welfare and Development Section.
We facilitated an interview with one 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.
We hosted a presentation by our Chief Consultant, Prof. Raymund Narag, to the BJMP upper management on his findings on the Classification, Risk Assessment and Case Management Program (CRACMP) which has been pilot implemented at Manila City Jail Dorm since 2019. CRACMP aims to institute an inmate classification system that would measure, using criminological and sociological theories and empirical studies, criminogenic needs of Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) to empower the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to respond to the rehabilitative needs of an inmate.
We launched our PRESO WE CARE Program that seeks to provide post release assistance to our CBB Participants through our enhanced partnerships with other organizations and individuals. Our first activity was the distribution of care packages to our 68 released participants through the support of Counsellor Institute and LegalAid.ph.
We were able to establish new partnership with several organizations which we hope will expand our services.
As of December 3, there have been 229 individuals referred to our program coming from 18 jail facilities, 7 police stations, 3 youth centers, and 3 correctional facilities. Of this number 108 had been interviewed. Of the interviewed, 36 had been successfully bailed out while another 35 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 918,190.00. 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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