We celebrate a year into our Community Bail Bond Program and we look back with pride to our triumphs and accomplishments as well as take stock of the numerous challenges and learnings we have gleaned for the past twelve months.
The Community Bail Bond Program was our organization’s direct response to the covid-19 pandemic which we feared would have a devastating impact on our overcrowded jail and detention facilities throughout the National Capital Region. PRESO, Inc, has long sought to address jail congestion through paralegal programs and activities to benefit jail personnel and persons deprived of liberty alike. The onslaught of the pandemic brought a sense of urgency that challenged us to develop a more direct approach to help low-risk, first-time and overstaying offenders obtain release through bail and other modes and mechanisms of corrective action.
At the start it was all a work in progress as we developed a process to ensure that the CBB Program was holistic and comprehensive. We took into account the need to ensure that our participants’ criminogenic risks and needs are addressed while in detention and upon their release. Our CBB Program Field Officers became quick learners 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.
For our first year, 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, 23 had been successfully bailed out, 10 had their cases dismissed, 2 were successfully referred to probation, 3 were released on recognizance, 13 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.
With their release, the government has now saved Php 574,910.00. 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 at 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.
From the onset we were well aware that we would need to establish partnerships and linkages with fellow stakeholders in the criminal justice system in order to ensure our program goals and objectives would be met. We were fortunate and blessed to have obtained the support of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), the Parole and Probation Administration (PPA) and the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC).
We partnered with Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services, Inc. (IDEALS, Inc.) and the El Proveedores Foundation for the paralegal and post release intervention needed by our Participants. Their support and expertise in their respective fields have proven truly invaluable and we look forward to further strengthening our joint efforts in the future.
We are grateful for all the other NGOs and generous individuals who support our advocacy and provide much needed assistance and resources.
As we enter our second year of the 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 their lives 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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