Panayam kay BJMP spokesperson, JCInsp. Jayrex Bustinera

PTVPhilippines

Transcript

00:00 In the absence of more than 74,000 PDLs and other programs,

00:04 we will discuss with the Jail Chief, Inspector J. Rex Bustinera,

00:09 the spokesperson of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

00:12 Inspector J., good afternoon.

00:15 Good afternoon, Attorney Danny and Ms. Chi.

00:21 Sir, because the priority of BJMP is the decongestion of our prisoners,

00:27 what is the total number of PDLs you released to the country?

00:32 Based on our data, from January to October,

00:39 we released 74,590 PDLs.

00:44 We expect that this will increase because, of course,

00:47 we will release more this coming month.

00:50 Okay, Inspector J., this is Chi.

00:54 What are your considerations to release these PDLs?

00:58 Will this continue to expand our prisons?

01:03 Yes, ma'am.

01:07 Our first consideration is that they should have a court order.

01:11 And then most of our releases are released through GCTA,

01:15 or Good Conduct Time Allowance,

01:17 where we reduce their sentence

01:20 so that they can be released early if they have good behavior.

01:24 This also includes the paralegal assistance program of BJMP.

01:28 One of the priorities of our Chief BJMP, Jail Director Rueles Rivera,

01:33 and of course, our DILG Secretary, Attorney Benor Abalos,

01:37 is to increase the number of paralegal programs.

01:40 So that, of course, aside from the regular release of our sentence served,

01:45 we can add other assistance programs.

01:49 Sir, how many of the released prisoners have already served their sentences,

01:53 or have already paid their bail, and others?

01:55 Just to be clear, how many of the PDLs have only been transferred facilities,

02:01 such as bureau facilities, youth detention facilities, and others?

02:05 Yes, of our 74,000, only 10,000 were time served their sentences.

02:14 The rest are all paralegal release.

02:16 The ones we transferred to the Bureau of Corrections are in the 6,000 PDLs.

02:21 So the ones we released are our paralegal assistance in bail,

02:26 community service, acquittal, process of bail,

02:31 and then other programs, our diversion programs in imprisonment,

02:36 such as aftercare and aftercare programs of our community-based rehabilitation.

02:42 Okay, sir, according to an article, one of the things that helped in decongesting the prisoners

02:47 is the efforts of the BJMP in providing legal and paralegal assistance.

02:52 Can you explain how this helped in expanding jail facilities, sir?

02:58 Yes.

03:01 As of now, we know that many PDLs are imprisoned,

03:07 and there are only a few public lawyers.

03:11 With the help of the BJMP paralegal officers,

03:14 their cases are made available to the PDLs,

03:18 and they are assisted by going to their courts and lawyers outside the jail.

03:25 And to speed up their hearings,

03:29 they can also avail of a way to be released earlier.

03:35 And in doing so, the court can also focus on the pending cases.

03:39 So most of the time, it is the coordination of the BJMP with their lawyers and courts,

03:45 and of course, the assistance of the PDLs.

03:48 Because most of our PDLs have a hard time understanding our legal processes.

03:54 And through the help of our BJMP officers,

03:57 they are helped to understand and of course,

04:00 they can make a proper decision to be released early.

04:04 Sir, can we say that if the proper process of transferring and releasing the PDLs continues,

04:13 the tight prison will be solved?

04:18 Yes, that's right.

04:22 And I also want to plug in, sir,

04:25 that we now have inter-agency coordination.

04:30 Now, on December 6 and 7, there will be a decongestion summit.

04:35 The Supreme Court, Department of Justice, and DILG, along with the BJMP, will participate in this.

04:43 These agencies will discuss the activities, methods, and problems

04:50 to address the congestion or tightness inside our prisons.

04:54 This is a very good development,

04:56 and we are expecting that more people will be released this December so that they can celebrate Christmas outside.

05:02 Is it also right, sir, to say that we don't need to add facilities

05:08 if the process of transferring and releasing the jail facilities in the country is just one of the proper ones?

05:13 It depends, ma'am Chi.

05:18 First, we still need to repair and develop our facilities.

05:24 Considering that our new facility is only 142 out of 482.

05:30 This means that the remaining facilities are old and not in accordance with our international standards.

05:39 That is what we are looking at as a standard for the humane treatment of our prisoners.

05:44 So, as part of the BJMP, we welcome, of course, if we have funds

05:49 or additional assistance for the construction of jail facilities.

05:54 But these are two efforts.

05:56 The control of the entry, the width of the facility,

06:02 and of course, the release of those inside the prisons.

06:06 So, for the BJMP, both efforts are important.

06:10 Sir, aside from what you mentioned earlier,

06:14 are there other programs that can help in the decongestion of our prisons?

06:19 Yes, the BJMP is now starting the classification of our system

06:28 to know who has the propensity to return or be a recidivist of PDLs

06:34 so that while they are inside, they are already being treated, meaning they already have a program.

06:39 This is related to the Developmental Opportunity Program that we have been looking for.

06:43 That is one of the alternative learning systems.

06:45 They are able to study inside so that they can graduate from junior high school, senior high school.

06:50 So that when they leave, their chances of returning are low.

06:54 We can control the situation.

06:56 We also have the College Education Program.

06:59 They are already studying in the select BJMP facilities.

07:02 We have seven pilot sites of College Behind Bars.

07:06 And there are other programs that are part of our stakeholder engagement.

07:12 The summit with the Supreme Court and DOJ is coming up.

07:15 And there are many more.

07:17 Our objective is to make the government of PITAN human

07:22 and it will be human if we continue to expand or address the congestion.

07:29 So that's it, sir.

07:31 That is a big help to our fellow countrymen who are now in PDLs and also to their families.

07:36 Sir, please send a message to our fellow countrymen.

07:39 From the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology,

07:45 under the Department of the Interior and Local Government,

07:48 we are thankful for this opportunity and we hope that we can support the programs of BJMP and our government.

07:56 Especially, this is concerning to persons deprived of liberty.

08:01 Because our only desire from BJMP and we have already released them,

08:06 is to be productive citizens and not to return to the life of crime and not to return to PITAN.

08:12 So we hope that we can support the programs.

08:15 Thank you very much.

08:17 Thank you very much for your time, Jail Chief Inspector J. Rex Bustinera, the spokesperson of BJMP.

Category

Transcript

Recommended