What has been done:
We begin our advocacy for the new year with a renewed resolve to expand upon the gain we were able to achieve in 2021.
Our Community Bail Bond Program forged ahead with our Field Officers performing their functions above and beyond the call of duty. These included conducting weekly monitoring/home visits of referrals & successfully released participants, attending court hearings, coordinating with barangay officials & PAO lawyers, and the processing of bail.
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.
For this period were able to successfully release 2 CBB Participants from detention through bail. They join the 74 other CBB Participants that have been released, all of whom we are assisting towards community reintegration.
We continued our engagement with our partners in the criminal justice system. We joined fellow service providers in the first meeting with the newly designated warden of Manila City Jail Male Dorm.
We finalized plans with our new partners from Rock the Rehas and Rotary Club of Midtown Quezon City for the launching and turn over ceremony of the Padyak Pangkabuhayan Assistance Project to benefit ten CBB Participants.
Prof. Narag and his colleague, Ms. Rachel Reardon continued with the interviews of CBB Participants as part of their research paper for Southern Illinois University.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we were able to provide some supplies and much need equipment for 8 NCR jail facilities courtesy of several PRESO, Inc. supporters and fellow advocates.
As of January 28, there have been 239 individuals referred to our program coming from 18 jail facilities, 7 police stations, 3 youth centers, and 3 correctional facilities. Of this number 112 had been interviewed. Of the interviewed, 41 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 1,040,970.00. 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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