What has been done:
For the period covered PRESO, Inc. took the opportunity to assess its triumphs and accomplishments as well as challenges and learnings gleaned since the start of the Community Bail Bond Program. Our CBB Program Field Officers however continued their duties in conducting weekly monitoring/home visits of referrals & successfully released participants, attending court hearings, coordinating with barangay officials & PAO lawyers, and the processing of bail.
We continued with the conduct of webinar trainings for the Bureau of Corrections and Quezon City Jail Male Dorm.
As of March 26, there have been 165 individuals referred to our program coming from 6 jail facilities, 2 police stations and 3 youth centers of whom 88 had been interviewed. Of the interviewed, 22 had been successfully bailed out, 9 had their cases dismissed, 2 were successfully referred to probation, 3 were released on recognizance, 7 had served their sentences, 3 had 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 46 released, 43 had been reintegrated to their respective families and communities.
Through our CBB program, the government has now saved Php 520,660.00. This is computed by adding the amount budgeted per day (PhP70 for food) 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.
More importantly, we reduced jail crowding which is one of the major issues that is faced by our correctional facilities, especially in the time of the COVID19 pandemic.
Finally, we minimized their exposure to the criminogenic jail environment leading to better reentry to the society as responsible members.
However, we were also faced with a number of challenges that usually involved dealing with police officers and court personnel and delays in securing bail documents. But we are all taking these in stride. We continue to learn and re-learn approaches and procedures. And this is a welcome experience for us. We know that this is just the beginning. 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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