(MANILA BULLETIN)

Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan is hopeful that the recommendations presented in the recently concluded Jail Decongestion Summit will lead to long-term reforms in the country’s correctional system. 

Yamsuan said the conduct of the summit “sweeping reforms that would substantially improve the living conditions and well-being of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) detained in the country’s overcrowded prison and jail facilities”. 

“We are confident that the conditions of PDLs inside jails and the rehabilitation programs for them will improve with all three branches of government working together to address the longstanding complex, yet actionable problem of jail congestion,” he said. 

The three branches of government are the executive, legislative, and judiciary. 

Solutions to overpopulated prisons are also eyed by Yamsuan under his proposed legislation—House Bill (HB) No. 8672. 

This measure aims to unify the country’s fragmented correctional system under a single agency, the proposed Department of Corrections and Jail Management (DCJM). 

DCJM shall include a Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, which shall focus on the implementation of reformation and reintegration programs for PDLs. 

“Our collective goal should not be focused on merely jailing and punishing PDLs, but to rehabilitate them and provide them support in landing job and livelihood opportunities so that they can return to the mainstream of society as productive individuals,” stressed Yamsuan. 

The Bicolano lawmaker, who is a staunch advocate for prison reform, also highlighted the significance of the corresponding expansion of jail facilities. 

“Expanding jail facilities to prevent congestion and improve the welfare of PDLs is a very good solution. However, if the expansion would continue without integrating the operations of the different agencies under a single department, this would only worsen their  existing poor coordination and poor allocation of resources for our PDLs,” he said. 

Yamsuan says House Speaker Martin Romualdez is considering HB No. 8672 as among the proposals that will be studied by the House of Representatives to address jail congestion. --Dexter Barro II