Australian Ambassador Hae Kyong Yu on Wednesday, Dec. 6, expressed concerns that the congested penal facilities in the Philippines might result in terrorist inmates influencing and radicalizing other persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).
“If we do not get this right, those terrorists who are stuck in jail could potentially come out just as extreme and in fact, in worst case scenarios, even radicalize others,” the Australian ambassador to the Philippines said in her speech during the opening of the two-day National Jail Decongestion Summit.
“And in an overcrowded prison and jail it is very difficult to achieve rehabilitation,” the ambassador stressed.
Australia is one of the participants in the summit which also includes the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The summit is being held by the Justice Sector Coordinating Counncil (JSCC) composed of the Supreme Court, the Department of Justices and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Ambassador Yu said the problems in congested jails that may breed terrorism is one of the reasons “why the Australian government is so committed to working with you to get your corrections systems right.”
Aside from being a long-standing partner in the fight against terrorism, the ambassador cited two other reasons why Australia wants to support the Philippines in decongesting its prison and jail facilities.
“The Australian government and Philippine government have recently elevated our relationship to strategic partnership. In fact, our two good leaders signed the declaration in September this year. And as good strategic partners will do, the Australian government is always committed to supporting the Philippines priority issues,” she cited.
Yu also pointed out: “We too in Australia went through prison reforms.”
“Some of our prisons were in terrible conditions. We had to work through reforming our system to ensure the best outcome. Some of it were hard fought and hard learned but given what we've gone through we want to share with you our experience,” she explained.