By Alyanna Joyce S. Abadejos | Photo Courtesy | SBCA RAVSLAC
Fair imprisonment time – this was the core principle behind Rene A.V. Saguisag Legal Aid Center’s (RAVSLAC) Jail Decongestion Project at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Paranaque City (BJMP-Paranaque).
Rooted in the Constitution, one’s stay inside a detention facility must be confined only to such period as the courts deem just and proportionate to the crime committed. However, in reality, this does not always seem to be the case.
The prevalence of bureaucracy and clogged dockets have led many persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) to be confined for more than the designated period. Consequently, RAVSLAC has partnered with BJMP-Paranaque to facilitate the release of inmates who have already completed their due sentence.
In an interview with Diazmean Sotelo, Project Head and Team Relations Officer of RAVSLAC, she shared their philosophy, “We believe that even if it’s just a day past the sentence na binigay sayo, it is already a grave injustice. You were given a period for a reason and anything beyond that is no longer humane nor just.”
Through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), the organization has devised a process where student volunteers are permitted to visit, interview, and determine the identities of PDLs who have completed their sentences. After such determination, they proceed to courts and begin following up on the cases of each PDL, alongside the information they gathered. Finally, they return to BJMP and update the authorities on the Release Orders once provided by the courts.
As many as nine (9) PDLs were reported to have been freed from custody within one month from the start of the initiative.
One of them, in particular, was released after 3 months of custody out of what was supposed to have been merely a 15-day imprisonment sentence.
This, Sotelo emphasized, was what gave the project a relevant impact on society. Otherwise, there would be unaddressed danger to the integrity of the criminal justice system.
When asked about the future of the project, she attested to aiming for its sustainability – even at the pitching stage to the Executive Committee. Furthermore, RAVSLAC hopes to also tap into other congested jails such as San Pedro and expand their reach in NCR.
For this, partnerships with other organizations in SBCA-SOL and even groups outside the school were seen as points of interest.
Helping PDLs be reintegrated into society through seminars on their civil and human rights was also within the contemplated future plans of the organization. They hope to gain assistance from the school’s own faculty in conducting the lectures.
As an organization, RAVSLAC continues to pioneer a list of initiatives that delve into the country’s legal system – even at the grassroots level.