By Mar Supnad
BALANGA CITY, Bataan — Judges and prosecutors have buckled down to serious work in order to speed up the wheels of justice and set free around 1,200 prisoners in a bid to decongest the Bataan District Jail.
(1BATAAN/ MANILA BULLETIN)
Superintendent Andrew Tauli, Bataan district jail warden, said he is thankful for the cooperation of the judiciary in the plea bargaining scheme that targets detainees facing only misdemeanor cases.
Through plea bargaining, those charged with lesser crimes such as using illegal drugs, were afforded the legal remedy of admitting to a misdemeanor so that they may go free after having served a long time in detention waiting for their cases to be resolved.
Over the weekend, Judge Marion Jacqueline Poblete of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 3 and Judge Dorina S Castro-Baltazar of the Family Court, both in
Balanga City were joined by Clerk of Court Gay Escalada-Clavel in meeting with Tauli at the district jail.
The judiciary officers were able to see for themselves the real condition of inmates at the heavily-congested jail, said Tauli.
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” said Judge Poblete as she and Judge Baltazar vowed to resolve as many cases as they can as soon as possible.
Asked how successful the plea bargaining scheme has been since its implementation, Tauli said that from 2,300 detainees, the district jail now has an inmate population of 1,100 – 124 of them being women.