In the third week of October, the Philippine Government celebrates the National Correctional Consciousness (NaCoCo) Week. The aim is to bring to the consciousness of the Filipino people the plight of Persons Deprived of Liberties (PDLs). Specifically, it aims to generate interest from the Filipino public on: How to help in the reformation of the PDLs while in jails, prisons and those under parole and probation supervision; How to help the PDLs in reintegrating back to the community upon release. The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, the provincial jails, the Bureau of Corrections have been in the forefront of helping the PDLs. They introduced programs to address the criminogenic needs (reasons for offending) of the PDLs, and they have taken personal and professional sacrifices to improve the plight of the PDLs especially in the time of the Covid19 pandemic. Despite their heroic efforts however, the jail and prison facilities are perennially overcrowded, undermanned and under-resourced. The average overcrowding rate is around 350 percent, which is the second worst in the world. This was made worse by the Drug War that was unleashed by President Duterte since 2016. The effects of the drug war include: The over-congestion of the jails and prisons The delay in the adjudication of cases due to the overwhelmed case dockets. Prolonged pretrial detention where PDLs stay in jail for longer periods yet still presumed innocent. Some PDLs stay in jail for 10 or more years yet are still unconvicted. Use of plea bargaining, where PDLs simply plead guilty so they can be released. They are described as: "prisoners that were never convicted to convicts that were never tried". Insufficient programs leading to higher recidivism rates. Many PDLs go back to jails and prisons within 6 months of release due to stigmatization and poor reintegration efforts. Finally, the drug war has not reduce the drug use problem. It is because, killing people and putting them to jails and prisons, a physical solution, does not address the root cause of drug use. Drug use is usually a product of poor family upbringing, criminogenic peer exposure, lack of opportunities in the neighborhoods, poor educational backgrounds, and strains from employment. Instead of a physical solution, we should employ a public health and harm reduction approach to the problem. There are many programs that can be implemented in jails and prisons and the community to address the drug problem. We can employ the brain talent of many professionals in different disciplines to address the Filipino drug problem. In this NaCoCo Week, the Philippine government of President Duterte should come with a realization that the drug war has perverted the correctional and criminal justice system. It has made the justice and correctional system worse off. It is a misguided approach that should not be implemented by any government that will replace the Duterte presidency.
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