President Marcos on Wednesday, Dec. 6, emphasized the need for a “whole-of-government approach” to address the high congestion rates in the country’s prison facilities.
In his address to participants in the first ever National Jail Decongestion Summit at the Diamond Hotel in Manila, the President welcomed the summit as a demonstration of "the commitment of the entire government to expedite the processing of criminal cases and alleviate the chronic problem of jail congestion."
“Indeed, it would require a whole-of-government approach to ensure the efficient, effective, and compassionate administration of justice in the country,” the President said in his speech which was delivered for him by Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin.
The two-day summit until Thursday, Dec. 7, is a project of the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC) which is composed of the Supreme Court (SC), Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The President expressed confidence that “the discussions in this summit will pave the way for better policies and initiatives that will address the root causes of our problems.”
Mr. Marcos urged the JSCC “to pursue the streamlining and digitalization of your frontline and back-end services.”
“By embracing technology and innovative practices, we can enhance our efficiency, reduce delays, and ensure swift and fair legal proceedings,” the President pointed out.
For his part, Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo called the summit as “a historic day.”
“On this day, the entire Philippine government, represented by no less than the Chief Executive of the Republic of the Philippines and the Heads of the Legislative and Judicial Departments, commits to an undertaking that will require the whole of government to execute, and that is, the decongestion of our penal facilities,” Gesmundo said.
He said: “The problem of jail congestion has been building up over the years. as our population increases, as more laws are passed, as the enforcement of our laws become more efficient, as prosecutions result to more convictions, and as judgments are more quickly handed down, the increase in the number of prisoners is only expected. Wwithout a corresponding expansion of our jail facilities, congestion would naturally result.”
He cited data which show that 70 percent of detention facilities of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) are overcrowded with an average congestion rate of 386 percent and lamented that some jails have 2,748 percent congestion rate.
Aside from the lack of facilities, Gesmundo said that there are “many other factors that have contributed to the congestion rate we are now facing.”
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla. in his speech which was read by Undersecretary Raul T. Vasequez, said he expects that the participants of the summit will “propose pragmatic solutions that may swiftly address the challenges.”
“The gravity and urgency of these challenges need not be stressed, and the utmost importance of our collective efforts to face them, cannot be overstated. Overcrowded corrections and detention facilities compromise the very essence of the corrections system, pose systemic challenges that ripple accross our criminal justice system,” he also said.
Similarly, DILG Undersecretary Juan Victor R. Llamas also admitted that jail overcrowding “leads to deplorable conditions for persons deprived of liberty or PDLs, compormising their health and well-being, and hindering their seamless reintegration into society.”
Thus, Llamas assured that “the DILG remains steadfast in supporting initiatives to address jail overcrowding, contributing to the enhancement of our criminal justice system.”
Both Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romouldez were also present during the launching of the summit and expressed support to its objectives.
Zubiri cited that the Senate has been part of efforts in helping decongest prison facilities including the passage of Republic Act (RA) No. 11928, the Separate Facility for Heinous Crimes Act, that lapsed into law just last year.
“On top of that, we of course remain committed to helping the DOJ improve our existing facilities and our rehabilitative programs for our PDLs, including the plan to relocate the Bilibid complex, and establish more penal facilities across the country, to ensure that our PDLs are incarcerated in their home regions, making them more accessible for visits from their families,” Zubiri said.
“And we also remain committed to supporting our Courts as we work toward establishing a more efficient criminal justice system that honors the needs of our victims, while offering offenders a road toward restorative justice,” he added.
Speaker Romualdez, on the other hand, revealed that the House of Representatives is currently studying a number of proposals in addressing congestion in the country’s prison and jail facilities.
These include review of the classification of crimes that are considered “capital” and “non-bailable” as well as the decriminalization of certain offenses like libel, abortion and dueling; diversion of adult offenders by providing alternatives to incarceration for minor offenses and first-time offenders as well as reducing unnecessary admissions into penal facilities; the creation of a Unified Penology Act and Department of Corrections and Penology; creation of a law on Reintegration and Psychosocial Rehabilitation; amendment of the Recognizance Act of 2012; and the strengthening of the Commission on Human Rights, Romualdez said.
“These proposals represent a holistic approach to a complex problem. They reflect our commitment to a justice system that is not only efficient and equitable but also humane and respectful of the rights and dignity of every Filipino,” he also said.