SC’s mobile courts free 8,500 inmates

ANGELES CITY—Some 8,500 inmates from various jails in the country had been freed through hearings in mobile courts under the Enhanced Justice on Wheels (EJOW) of the Supreme Court (SC) since its launch in December 2004, Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo said on Friday.

Their release saved the government P552,000 daily in food allowance alone, said Del Castillo, chair of the SC’s committee on EJOW. The program was started during the term of former Chief Justice Reynato Puno.

Jayron Bacusmo was the first inmate acquitted by a mobile court here on Friday, during EJOW’s second visit in Angeles City since 2011. Bacusmo, 28, a father of three, was cleared of illegal drugs possession after staying in jail for almost six years.

He shed tears when a clerk read Executive Judge Omar Viola’s decision finding him innocent. “I’d like to see my kids in Bicol,” said Bacusmo, a native of Mabalacat City in Pampanga.

The cases of 65 male detainees and 13 female inmates were set to be resolved on Friday, Viola said.

The Supreme Court has nine buses that double up as mobile courts around the country.

Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan, a human rights lawyer during martial law, said EJOW helps ease decongestion at the Angeles City jail. At least 65 local inmates were released through EJOW in 2011.

The facility, run by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology here, hosts 1,957 men and 306 women, said wardens Supt. Florante Nisperos and Chief Insp. Rebecca Tiguelo.

The jail, good for only 250 prisoners, is among the most congested in the country.

“EJOW is a big help in decongesting jails and in expediting [resolution of] cases,” Nisperos told the Inquirer.

Del Castillo said EJOW also provided medical and dental aid to 20,358 inmates and gave legal assistance to 5,748 detainees. Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon