To decongest provincial jail
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Gov. Lilia “Nanay Baby” Pineda has formed a group of 20 volunteer lawyers to conduct a review of the pending cases of detainees at the Pampanga Provincial Jail, to fast-track the resolution of their cases — at no cost.
“These lawyers shall study the nature of the cases and resolve them towards decreasing the number of detainees and decongesting the jail population,” the governor said.
The Pampanga Provincial Jail, it was learned houses more than 600 detainees although it can only hold 300 detainees at one time.
This situation has alarmed Pineda, expressing concern for the inmates’ health and prompting her to form the said volunteer group to give free legal assistance.
According to her, the provincial government spends some P10 million a year for food and other requirements of the detainees. Decongesting the jail would mean less expense for the government and freedom and a new life for those whose cases will be resolved and set free, she added.
The review, according to the governor’s office, started last month and the lawyers are helped out by a group of psychologists and social workers, thus rounding out the necessary elements in the assessment of the cases.
The governor also laments the fact that due to the congestion, many of the inmates get sick, “yung iba may tuberculosis, emphysema, skin diseases, nakakaawa; if they deserve to be set free, then it would do them a lot of good to start a new and healthy life outside”.
Relative to this, Regional Director Marlene Melo of the Parole and Probation Office and Antonietta Pelayo, chief of the Pampanga office, recently paid a courtesy call on the governor. They informed her that their office, as part of its rehabilitation program, has recently processed the release of some 187 probationers, parolees, and pardonees. They also sought the governor’s help in coming up with livelihood opportunities for the same group.
The governor shall meet these 187 newly released prisoners on Wednesday, October 6, to discuss how they can join the mainstream of society productively. In her initial talks with the Melo and Pelayo, the governor disclosed that the former detainees can be paid to do farm work in the 120 hectare lot that the provincial government has at the Pampanga Agricultural College (PAC) grounds.
The governor expressed the hope that “This could start them on to a new life with their families in their own communities”.
She also declared that the Parole and Probation Office shall henceforth become part of the group of the volunteer lawyers, psychologists and social workers that reviews the cases of the detainees at the provincial jail. The governor also plans to have the provincial jail building extended and rehabilitated.
“We need to look after the welfare of this sector to make them productive and useful members of society and, at the same time, improve the conditions inside the provincial jail for the sake of those who are rightfully detained there.” (Pampanga PIO)
