To decongest prisons, judges hold trials inside city jails
June 18, 2013 | 1:55pm
MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court on Tuesday started its "Judgment Day" project wherein judges hold hearings inside city jails and try to decide on cases.
In an advisory, Court Administrator Justice Jose Midas Marquez said the project aims to decongest prisons as the judges go directly to the jails to render decisions on cases, which may pave the way for the release of some inmates.
Marquez said the hearings will be held in jail facilities identified by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to have the highest inmate population, particularly the Manila City Jail, Quezon City Jail, Cebu City Jail, Davao City Jail and Angeles City Jail.
The project prioritizes cases involving senior citizens and those which had long been pending due to the absence of the complainants in the hearing.
In 2011, Romulo Virola, former secretary-general of the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), revealed that the national jail congestion rate, or the number of extra inmates over the jail capacity, was at 446.1 percent in December 2010.
"With an 'ideal' jail density of 4.7 square meters per inmate, on the average, BJMP jails house more than four inmates too many," said Virola.
He said the most congested jails are those in Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Davao, Eastern Visayas, and Metro Manila.
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