THE PHILIPPINE REVISED Penal Code embarks on jail terms for those who have messed up, as an approach primarily designed to reform people found guilty by any court of law for commission of criminal acts.
As to how the penal system in the Philippines could reform people behind bars is another question.
The government figures on congestion of jail facilities under the auspices of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) says it all. Deplorable is an understatement to describe the inhumane condition of thousands of inmates billeted in 477 jail facilities across the archipelago.
Interestingly, there are two jail classifications. BuCor hosts seven facilities for people who have been convicted of crimes.
The rest of the jail facilities are for those who remain innocent until proven guilty. These jails include holding centers in police stations, provincial jails under the auspices of the host province and the BJMP jails.
The concept of the jail system is reformation… so when the right time comes, they would be (ready for)… reintegration to the society where they once were part of.
COMMON DENOMINATOR
There’s one common denominator in the country’s 477 jail facilities — congestion. The prisoners, referred to by the government as Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL), are cramming up for space and services in facilities where they are supposed to remain until the jail time is served.
Interestingly, many are under the impression that spending time in jail is a punishment. Well, maybe to some extent.
The concept of the jail system is reformation. PDLs are supposed to undergo reformation embarking on various approaches, so when the right time comes, they would be well enough and ready for the so-called reintegration to the society where they once were part of.
So what’s keeping PDLs from being released? For sure, neither BuCor nor the BJMP would allow an inmate to walk out of the facility unless the court says so.
SNAIL-PACED PROCESSING
According to a group which calls itself Aid-Dalaw Nationwide International Movement (AIM), more than 10,000 convicts billeted at the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City have spent more than the jail time prescribed by the court in its decision.
The group blamed BuCor for its snail-paced processing of release orders for PDLs who have served their time in accordance with the court decision.
Same predicament hounds PDLs in BJMP-supervised jail facilities. Oh yes, they too have been there long enough — and beyond the jail time corresponding to the penalty of the crime had they pleaded guilty on their first day in court.
The judiciary could hardly comply with the 180-day trial period because of the volume of cases collecting dust in various courts.
To note, there are only 959 courts sprawling Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. There’s no way they could wrap up hearings with tens of thousands of cases filed on a day to day basis.