Senator Santiago bats for ‘Pay to Stay’ scheme for well-heeled cons

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago is proposing a law, a “pay to stay” program in the Philippines for wealthy prisoners who are willing to pay hotel rates for relatively spartan prison cells.

“We need to change existing laws, to separate maximum security from minimum security prisoners,” Santiago explained in a statement Tuesday. “Minimum security prisoners should be allowed to apply for a ‘pay-to-stay’ program, if they are willing to pay hotel rates.”

But in Santiago’s proposal, only prisoners who committed non-violent crimes such as crimes against public interest, including fraud, forgery, and falsification; crimes against public morals, including gambling and betting; and non-violent crimes against property, such as theft and issuance of bouncing checks, could avail of the program.

Scratched from the proposed program would be convicts with a history of violence, a sex, drug or arson registrant, or has a situation or condition that may endanger the health, safety, or welfare of the other ‘pay-to-stay’ inmates, or the jail staff.

Santiago clarified that the proposed law would not apply to former Batangas Governor Antonio Leviste, who was convicted for murder four years ago.

Not out-of-the-box

The senator said the “pay-to-stay” program is already being observed in the United States penal system where prisoners were allowed private cells, work release programs, Ipods, mobile phones, and computers.

It is now being considered for implementation, the senator said, in New York and Massachusetts.

In Beverly Hills jail in California, Santiago said, three different programs are being implemented: the straight time program where prisoner just stays in jail until he serves out his sentence, the weekender program where prisoners check in on Saturday morning and checks out on Monday morning, until the sentence is served, and the work furlough program, where professionals can go to work in the morning for eight hours, but have to be back in jail for the night.

In a separate statement, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri revived calls for the establishment of a new and more secured maximum security compound in an island outside Metro Manila, just like the Alcatraz of the United States.

“It is now high time to build a maximum prison security compound outside Metro Manila, either at Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, or locate an island off Luzon similar to the Alcatraz,” Zubiri said.

He said the government may opt to sell, or privatize the 551-hectare Muntinlupa Bilibid Prisons, to help raise funds. A portion of the funds may be used to construct a modern and highly secured facilities.

“A more modern and highly secured penitentiary would certainly help deter crimes,” Zubiri averred.