RP justice, penology officials meet with ICRC

MANILA, Philippines – A top level meeting of the country’s justice and penology officials and experts with members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in the Philippines and other concerned parties convened on June 18 to 19 at the Crowne Plaza, Quezon City.

The meeting sought to address gaps in the criminal justice system that impact the lives of thousands of jail inmates nationwide and to come up with concrete action plans to alleviate their plight.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita was among the keynote speakers for the top-level meeting. Also speaking at the event were Supreme Court Justice Renato Corona and Rep. Matias Defensor Jr., chairman of the House committee on justice.

Three working groups composed of planning officers, technical experts and implementers from the government have been doing preparatory work on specific proposals for action on justice and penal reforms prior to the meeting.

They concluded their work with recommendations on key priority areas that were then presented to the policy-makers and relevant national and local government officials who participated in the two-day conference.

Since 1992, ICRC has been collaborating with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) on the treatment and conditions of detention of inmates in BJMP-run jails.

In 2007, the ICRC issued a confidential report, “A Call for Action” which it shared with the highest officials at the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. This year’s top-level meeting is a continuation of that process from which concrete solutions can emerge that will address the plight of the country’s detained persons and their families.

Areas of action have been identified, namely: 1) due process/judicial guarantee – insufficient monitoring of inmates’ legal cases by defense lawyers and paralegal officers and delay of processing; 2) upgrading infrastructures in BJMP jails.

The recommendations of the working groups, as endorsed by the government leaders and decision-makers, would be included in the National Budget for 2009 and also referred to international cooperation and donors for funding. Country representatives from Switzerland, Canada, Australia, France as well as the European Commission participated in the meeting.