Lawmaker cites initiatives, programs to address jail congestion

MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker believes that the best way to address congestion in detention and jail facilities would be to place intervening measures against repeat offenders, or individuals who are involved in the same crime several times.

Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan cited the programs of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), which has released over 74,000 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) in the first 10 months of 2023 — and around 103,000 since 2022.

“The BJMP’s jail decongestion initiatives not only involve speeding up the necessary legal processes to free PDLs eligible for release, but also rehabilitation programs that provide them with job and livelihood opportunities to help them return  back to society as productive individuals,” Yamsuan said on Monday.

“Through these initiatives, the BJMP is able to prevent recidivism among the PDLs under its care. By breaking the cycle of reoffending through appropriate rehabilitation programs, the BJMP was able to make significant headway in its jail decongestion efforts,” he added.

Yamsuan said he received a report from BJMP which showed that aside from these programs, the bureau has pushed for tie-ups with tertiary educational institutions through it College Education Behind Bars (CEBB) program, which equips PDLs with the necessary skills needed once their prison sentences are served.

Several of the items created by inmates were also exhibited at the PDL Livelihood Products Exhibit placed at the House of Representatives’ North Wing Lobby.

The same report also stated that more than 20,000 PDLs under BJMP’s facilities are reoffenders, which is due to the lack of appropriate interventions.

On Wednesday morning, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez led a National Jail Decongestion Summit which sought to tackle the human rights issue of overcrowding in jail facilities.

According to Romualdez, the House is eyeing six key proposals to help decongest the country’s jail facilities — including a possible comprehensive review of the classification of crimes as ‘capital’ and ‘non-bailable’.