Administrasyong Marcos, pangungunahan ang jail management summit

PANGUNGUNAHAN ng gobyerno, sa pakikipagtulungan sa Korte Suprema at iba pang stakeholders ang jail decongestion summit sa Maynila.

Layon nito na makapagpalabas ng  comprehensive analysis sa  penal system sa bansa at tugunan ang  prison congestion problem sa bansa.

Sa press briefing sa Palasyo ng Malakanyang, araw ng Biyernes, sinabi ni Justice Assistance Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano na kabilang sa makikiisa sa  December 6  hanggang 7 summit  sa  Diamond Hotel ay ang mga kinatawan mula sa  Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Justice (DOJ), Supreme Court, at iba pang stakeholders.

“We hope that we are able to reach the mission of the jail decongestion summit with the help of course of the UNODC as well as GOJUST who will be funding the event, two-day event where we will have stakeholders, experts, and several government agencies represented,” ayon kay Clavano.

Tiniyak naman  ni Clavano na dadalo si Pangulong  Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sa event kasama si  Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri at Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Winika ni Clavano na mayroong panukalang aktibidad at estratehiya sa panahon ng  summit. Kabilang dito ang pagbabawas sa prison admissions, itaas ang pagpapalaya sa  mga preso sa oras na makompleto na ang kanilang sentensiya  at palawakin ang  jail facility capacity.

“So, we will have short-term goals as well as long-term goals which we hope to discuss and thoroughly analyze in the jail decongestion summit,” ayon kay Clavano sabay sabing kasama rito ang alituntunin ukol sa custodial hearings at kinakailangang piyansa.

Sa pamamagitan ng  jail decongestion summit, sinabi ni Clavano na nais nilang makapagpalabas ng hakbang para bawasan ang jail admission at maging ang itaas ang pagpapalaya sa mga bilanggo, ikonsidera ang iba’t ibang klasipikasyon ng mga tinatawag na women in conflict with the law (WICL).

Sinabi pa ni Clavano na ang  penal system ay “has to deal with minor offenders, sexually and physically abused women, which is in line with the government’s anti-violence against women campaign. There are also pregnant WICLs, nursing WICLs, women with disabilities and elderly female prisoners.”

Kapit-bisig naman ang  Korte Suprema, DoJ, at DILG  na magu-ugnayan para makalikha at makapagpalabas ng bagong alituntunin hinggil sa  WICLs at manual sa kung paano haharapin ang situwasyon.

Sa kabilng dako, base sa December 2021 survey, mayroong 199,079 inmates o persons deprived of liberty (PDLs). Mayroon namang 179 PDLs  sa bawat 100,000 katao sa populasyon.

Sinasabing  13,704 ng PDLs ay pawang mga kababaihan kung saan may katumbas ito na 11% ng kabuuang Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) jail population.

“Significantly, 69.51 percent of the PDLs are undergoing preventive detention, which means there has not been a decision or conviction in their cases and only 30.49 percent have been convicted and sentenced,” ang paliwanag ni Clavano.

Hawak  naman ng BJMP ang mga nasa ilalim ng re-conviction, habang ang  Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) ang may hurisdiksyon sa mga  convicted offenders.

“Another significant statistic  is that 70 percent of BJMP detention facilities are already overcrowded at an average congestion rate of 386 percent,” ayon kay Clavano.

Tinukoy naman ni Clavano ang  Quezon City Male Dormitory, kung saan kinonsidera  bilang pinakamataas sa larangan ng  congestion rate na may 1,330%.

“Another significant factor here as to why we are holding the summit is that the BJMP facilities for female PDLs are more overcrowded than facilities for male PDLs,” dagdag na wika nito.  (Daris Jose)