PROJECT DURATION: September 2005 - September 2006
Overcrowding is one of the major problems in the Philippine jails. The jails in Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela are not exempt from this nationwide phenomenon. Many people are sharing very limited cell space without ventilation. On top of it all, these situations are still worsened by the slow judicial disposition of their cases, not to mention those who languish in jail for longer periods while the trial of their cases are on-going. Charged with offenses they may be, but until proven guilty, the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines still presumes their innocence. The conditions of these jails are even worse than the condition of the prisons for those who have already been found guilty. This preventive detention is actually worse than the imposable penalty. All these are suffered by anybody both adult and children who are not eligible to post bail and those who cannot afford to post bail notwithstanding the Treaties and Conventions ratified, Laws passed and Policies adhered to by the Republic.
Thus HLAF in cooperation with The Asia Foundation implements this project which seeks to contribute to current initiatives of arresting the injustice suffered by those who continue to languish in jails. In one year, HLAF seeks to attain the following specific objectives of the project:
1. To immediately release qualified and eligible detainees;
2. To set up paralegal coordinators among the inmates; and
3. To provide adequate and competent legal service to the poor and disadvantaged detainees who may be eligible for release.
To immediately release qualified and eligible detainees, HLAF employs the following methods:
1. Direct Legal Services—this method involves HLAF representing the inmates as head counsel or as special counsel as the case calls for. These services involves
a. Filing a Motion for Early Setting of Hearing,
b. Filing a Petition for Habeas Corpus,
c. Filing a Motion for Release on Recognizance,
d. Filing a Motion for Bail
e. Assisting Minor clients to avail the Right to Suspended Sentence
f. Assisting in Securing Dismissal through Desistance.
2. Case Follow-Up—this method involves the updating of cases of the inmates to address the problem encountered by many wherein their cases were left unattended by the court due to lack of relatives who would attend to their cases. This also involves the tracking and contacting of relatives of the inmates who were never visited in jail. Cases that needed to be followed up are identified by the Paralegal Coordinators.
To organize the Paralegal Coordinators, HLAF seeks those inmates who are intellectually able to do the work of a Paralegal and those who are willing to devote some of their time to help the co-inmates. To equip them with the necessary Paralegal Knowledge, HLAF conducts weekly training, by giving them seminars regarding the Constitution, Criminal Law (Revised Penal Code and some Special Penal Laws) and Criminal Procedure, Rights of the Accused and Modes of Release.
Aside from this, HLAF resolved to take a step farther. HLAF recognizes that in this kind of situation, it is the children that are most affected. Therefore, HLAF resolved to use the existing connections it had in furtherance of the MANAVA Decongestion Project in order to strengthen the Local Technical Working Group for Juvenile Justice. This TWG is composed of different pillars of the local criminal justice system including the Local Social Welfare and Development Office, the Office of the Barangay Affairs, The Local PNP, The Local BJMP, The Local Government Unit and the NGO’s. The TWG’s purpose is to discuss the conditions of the Juvenile Justice System within the Locality and to recommend solutions to the problems identified. The TWG is also discussing the possibility of diversion.
After four (4) months of implementation, HLAF has already intervened to release ten (10) detainees, four (4) of which are CICL’s, and has followed up innumerable cases. HLAF has already completed organizing Paralegal Coordinators in all three jails and is now conducting paralegal training seminars to equip these Paralegal Coordinators with adequate paralegal knowledge. Out of the 10 released, 4 were recommended by the Paralegal Coordinators and all those benefited by the case follow ups were recommended by the Paralegal Coordinators.
HLAF’s intervention in strengthening the Local Technical Working Group led to the close relationship between the local PNP, the Local Social Welfare and Development, the Prosecution and the Courts which eventually would contribute to the number of diverted cases at the enforcement (PNP) Level.
