Dear friends:
We are going to initiate a COMMUNITY BAIL FUND INITIATIVE IN TIME OF COVID19
CRISIS. The goal is to help our jail agencies to decongest the jail to mitigate the dreadful spread of COVID-19 among the Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL). Our goal is to identify bailable low risk PDLs, file motions for reduction of their bail, and post the bail amount.
Specifically, we target individuals with bail as low as PhP2,000 (US$40.00) and charged with very simple/menial offenses, such as gambling in the streets, but contribute greatly to jail congestion. Priority will be the first time and low risk, old and sickly, and those with family members who are willing and capable to accept them upon release.
Additionally, when released, a community of jail volunteers, spearheaded by the long-running organization, the PRESO Foundation, will get their names, addresses, and contact information for future monitoring and supervision. If applicable, they will also be referred to appropriate treatment and housing services and employment opportunities. They will also be made sure that they will attend hearings and will not engage in any offense. This supervision component is included to avert concerns for re offending, jumping bail, and public safety.
We will pilot the program in the Quezon City Jail Male Dorm, where 9 PDLs and 9 personnel have been confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 and many more are considered Persons Under Investigations. The QCJ is designed for 284 PDLs but currently accommodates 4,000 plus, making it one of the most congested facilities in the entire world. Other jail facilities may also be considered based on needs.
As you all know, I was once a resident-detainee of the Quezon City Jail for seven years. Thus, I know first hand the difficulties of living in such low-resourced and crowded situations. We believe that this intervention will be received with disdain and consternation among individuals who believe that "criminals" need to be locked up. However, please remember that most of these human beings are pretrial detainees, constitutionally presumed innocent, and could have been released should they have the money to post bail. Additionally, this program will be cost-beneficial to the government. By posting their bail, the government saves money for food, medicines and security of the PDLs. You may not know it but we spend twice as much for one PDL who stayed in jail for a year than one university student for two semesters of education. Specifically, for every 1 PDL bailed out with PhP. 2,000 bail, the government will save PhP25,555 computed as PhP70 per day for food times 365 days. That is for
food budget alone. But more importantly, by stemming the widespread contagion in our jail facilities, I believe, will redound to the benefit of everyone in the community. Because if our jails are infected, our communities will eventually be at stake.
Please join me in this call. Help us post bail to our fellow Filipinos. Help us decongest our jails.
Help us beat Covid-19.
If interested to help and be a partner for this noble cause, please contact me or Tessie Gomez, the Executive Director of the PRESO Foundation and Retired Judge Aurora Recina, the President of the PRESO Foundation.
For every PhP2000 bail, you save our government Ph 23,000.
Our first batch of recipients
We have our first two program participants released on bail on May 5, 2020. A third participant have a similar name in another court, thus we are hoping to have her released today. All three participant are mothers playing tongits while relaxing outside of their homes and were charged with "Illegal Gambling" from the antiquated Martial Law period PD 1602. They had been in police detention since before the start of the Covid lock down (February 15, 2020), that is, in detention for more than two months because of tongits. They are first time offenders. They all have little children who are now left to the care of their parents and other family members. Their bail were reduced to PhP15,000 apiece by the judge, through the efforts of Public Attorney Office handling their case... Thanks Atty. Ayen Aldueso and Chief PAO Persida Acosta). Online bail petitions made possible through the innovations of the Philippine Supreme Court Office of Court Administrator... Thanks Sir Midas Marquez. The detained mothers were able to raise PhP5,000 from relatives and friends and the PRESO Foundation shouldered PhP10,000. In total, the PRESO Foundation shouldered a total of PhP30,000, which will revert back to the foundation once trial is over.
Thanks to Jobert Navallo of the now closed ABS-CBN for highlighting their plight...
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