Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                

Ca PD 968

Download as docx, pdf, or txt
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 255

Correctional Administration 2

(Non-Institutional Corrections)

1
Release of prisoners based on Parole,
however, has to pass before a Board of Parole.
However, the members of this Board have no
personal knowledge of the offender’s background
before his prison term and his conduct and
actuations inside prison. They only rely on the
recommendations of the prison and his prison
records. Thus, there is every risk that unqualified
prisoners may be released because of this.

A prisoner is eligible for parole once the


inmate had served the minimum sentence, less
GCTA earned, of his indeterminate prison sentence
the maximum period of which exceeds one (1) year
except under the following circumstances:

1. When sentence is Reclusion Perpetua;

2. Those convicted of treason, conspiracy or


proposal to commit treason;

3. Those convicted of misprision of treason,


rebellion, sedition or espionage;

4. Those convicted of piracy;

5. those who are habitual delinquents i.e.,


those who within a period of ten (10) years from the
date of release from prison or last conviction of the
crimes of serious or less serious physical injuries,
robbery, theft, estafa and falsification, are found
guilty of any of said crimes a third time or oftener;

2
6. those who escaped from confinement or
evaded sentence;

7. Those who were granted conditional


pardon and violated any of its terms thereof;

8. Those whose maximum term of


imprisonment does not exceed one (1) year or are
with a definite sentence;

9. Those suffering from any mental disorder as


certified by a psychiatric report of the Bureau of
Corrections or the National Center for Mental
Health;

10. Those whose conviction is on appeal; and

11. Those who have a pending criminal case


for an offense committed while serving sentence.

Parole will be granted whenever the Board


of Pardons and Parole finds that there is a
reasonable probability that if released, the prisoner
will be law-abiding and that his release will not be
incompatible with the interests and welfare of
society.

The Board of Pardons and Parole shall not


consider the release on parole of a national prisoner
who is serving sentence in a municipal, city or
provincial jail unless the confinement in said jail is

3
in good faith or due to circumstances beyond the
prisoner’s control.

A parolee/pardonee should be placed under


the supervision of a Parole and Probation officer
upon release so that the parolee/pardonee will be
guided and assisted towards rehabilitation.

It shall be mandatory for a parolee/pardonee


to comply with the terms and conditions appearing
in the release document. But the BPP, upon the
recommendation of the Parole and Probation
Administration, revise or modify the terms and
conditions of the parole/pardon.

A parolee/pardonee may not transfer from


the place of residence designated in his Release
Document without prior written approval of the
BPP. To secure such approval, the
parolee/pardonee with his Parole and Probation
Officer shall file a written application in the form
prescribed by the BPP at least fifteen (15) days
before the requested transfer. The application,
together with the recommendation of the Parole and
Probation Officer, will be forwarded to the BPP for
appropriate action.

A Parole and Probation Officer can


authorize a parolee/pardonee to travel outside his
area of operational jurisdiction from ten (10) to
thirty (30) days. Outside travel for a cumulative
duration of more than 30 days within a six (6)

4
month period shall be considered as transfer of
residence.

In case of the parolee’s/pardonee’s death,


the Parole and Probation Officer shall transmit to
the BPP a certified true copy of the death certificate.

Any infraction of the terms and conditions


or release or any serious deviation or non-
observance of the obligations set forth in the parole
supervision program shall be immediately reported
by the Parole and Probation Officer to the BPP. The
infraction report is confidential and may not be
examined by the parolee/pardonee who is the
subject thereof. Upon receipt of the infraction
report, the BPP shall immediately order the arrest of
the parolee/pardonee.

The BPP may order the recommitment to


prison of the rearrested parolee/pardonee if it finds
that the continuation of the parole/pardon is
incompatible with public welfare. The
parole/pardon violator recommitted to prison shall
serve the remaining un-expired portion of his
maximum sentence. But the BPP may grant a new
parole after the recommitted parolee shall have
served one-fourth (1/4) of the un-served portion of
his sentence.

Upon expiration of the maximum sentence


of the parolee/pardonee, the BPP may, upon the
recommendation of the PPA, issue a Certificate of
Final Release and Discharge (CFRD) to a parolee or

5
recommend to the President that a similar certificate
be issued to a pardonee. Police, court, prosecutor,
and such other clearances as may be required by the
BPP shall be attached to the PPA recommendation.
A certified true copy of the CFRD shall also be
furnished the sentencing court.

CFRD finally releases the parolee/pardonee


from the conditions he is obligated to comply.
However, the accessory penalties, which have not
been expressly remitted in the Certificate, shall
continue to subsist.

The BPP may grant parole or conditional


pardon under special considerations for the
following considerations:

1. Old age, provided the inmate was below


sixty (60) years of age when crime was committed;

2. physical disability such as when the


petitioner is bed-ridden, deaf-mute, a leper, cripple
or blind, provided such physical disability is not
present when the crime was committed;

3. Serious illness duly certified by a


government physician; and

4. Similar circumstances, which show that


continued imprisonment, will be inhuman or will
pose grave danger to the life of the petitioner.

6
Following factors will be considered by the
BPP in granting parole or conditional pardon:

1. Evidence that petitioner will find


legitimate source of livelihood upon release;

2. Petitioner has a place to establish


residence; and

3. Availability of after-care services for old,


seriously ill or physically disabled petitioner.

Aliens granted parole or pardon by the BPP


shall be turned over to the Bureau of Immigration
and Deportation for disposition, documentation and
appropriate order.

In case the petitioner has co-accused, the


prison record, carpeta and other relevant documents
of the petitioner’s co-accused shall also be
considered.

Any member of the BPP or government


official authorized by the BPP may interview
inmates in prisons and jails to determine whether or
not they may be released on parole or granted
executive clemency. The board member shall make
a verbal report of the results of the interview as
indicated in Sec.17, which states that any Board
member or government official authorized by the
Board may interview prisoners confined in prison or
jail to determine whether or not they may be
released on parole or recommended for executive

7
clemency. The Board or its authorized
representatives shall interview an inmate who was
sentenced to Reclusion Perpetua or Life
Imprisonment or whose sentence had been
commuted from Death to Reclusion Perpetua.

Before an interview, the Board may require


a prisoner convicted of a heinous crime as defined
under Republic Act No. 7659 and other special laws
to undergo psychological/psychiatric examination if
the prisoner has a history of mental instability or in
any case, if the Board finds a need for such
examination in the light of the nature of the offense
committed or manner of its commission while the
government official authorized by the BPP to
interview prisoners shall submit a written report
thereon to the BPP within fifteen (15) days from the
date of interview.

A parole or pardon may be cancelled by the


BPP if it is found that material information
furnished by the parolee/pardonee, either before or
after release, was incomplete or the
parolee/pardonee had willfully or maliciously
concealed material information from the BPP.

RULES ON PAROLE AND GENERAL


GUIDELINES FOR RECOMMENDING
EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY

RULES ON PAROLE

8
Pursuant to Act No. 4103, otherwise known
as “The Indeterminate Sentence Law,” as amended
by, among others, Section 21. Title III, Book IV of
Executive Order No. 292 dated July 25, 1987,
otherwise known as “The Administrative Code of
1987”, the following Rules on Parole are hereby
promulgated:

RULE 1
GENERAL PROVISIONS

RULE 1.1. Purpose of the Law and Duty of


the Board – The purpose of Act No. 4103, as
amended, otherwise known as the “Indeterminate
Sentence Law”, is to uplift and redeem valuable
human material to economic usefulness and to
prevent unnecessary and excessive deprivation of
personal liberty. Under Section 5 of said Act, it is
the duty of the Board of Pardons and Parole to look
into the physical, mental and moral record of
prisoners who are eligible for parole and to
determine the proper time of release of such
prisoners on parole.

RULE 1.2. Definition of Terms – As used in


these Rules, unless the context indicates otherwise –

a. “Board” refers to the Board of Pardons and


Parole;

b. “Carpeta” refers to the institutional record of an


inmate which consists of his mittimus or
commitment order issued by the Court after

9
conviction, the prosecutor’s information and the
decisions of the trial court and the appellate court, if
any; certificate of non-appeal, certificate of
detention and other pertinent documents of the case;
c. “Director” refers to the Director of the Bureau
of Corrections;

d. “Parole” refers to the conditional release of a


prisoner from a correctional institution after he has
served the minimum of his prison sentence;

e. “Parole Supervision” refers to the


supervision/surveillance by the Probation and
Parole Officer of a parolee;

f. “Parole” refers to a prisoner who is released on


parole;

g. “Penal Superintendent” refers to the Officer-


In-Charge of the New Bilibid Prison, the
Correctional Institution for Women and the prison
and penal farms of the Bureau of Corrections;

h. “Prison Record” refers to information


concerning an inmate’s personal circumstances, the
offense he committed, the sentence imposed, the
criminal case number in the trial and appellate
courts, the date he commended serving his sentence,
the date he was received for confinement, the place
of confinement, the date of expiration of the
sentence, the number of previous convictions, if
any, and his behavior or conduct while prison;

10
i “Probation and Parole Officer” refers to the
Probation and Parole Officer undertaking the
supervision of the parolee;

j. “Regional Director” refers to the Head of the


Parole and Probation Administration in the region;

k. “Release Document” refers to the “Discharge


on Parole” issued by the Board; and

l. “Warden” refers to the Officer-In-Charge of the


Provincial, City, Municipal or district Jail.

RULE 2
RULES IN CONSIDERING PAROLE CASES

Part A. Eligibility for Review and Disqualifications

RULE 2.1. Eligibility for Review of A


Parole Case – A prisoner’s case shall not be eligible
for review by the Board unless:

a. the prisoner is confined in prison or jail


to serve an indeterminate sentence, the
maximum period of which exceeds one
(1) year, pursuant to a final judgment of
conviction, which has become final and
executory; and
b. He has served the minimum period of
said sentence.

RULE 2.2. Disqualifications for Parole –


Pursuant to, among others, Section 2 of Act No.

11
4103, as amended, otherwise known as the
“Indeterminate Senate Law”, said Act shall not
apply, and parole shall not be granted, to the
following prisoners:
a. Those convicted of an offense punished
with the death penalty, reclusion
perpetua or life imprisonment;
b. Those convicted of treason, conspiracy
or proposal to commit treason or
espionage;
c. Those convicted of misprison of treason,
rebellion, sedition or coup d’ etat;
d. Those convicted of piracy or mutiny on
the high seas on Philippine waters;
e. Those who are habitual delinquents, be,
those who, within a period of ten (10)
years from the date of release from
prison or last conviction of the crimes of
serious or less serious physical injuries,
robbery, theft, estafa, and falsification,
are found guilty of any of said crimes a
third time or offender;
f. Those who escaped from confinement or
evaded sentence;
g. Those who having been granted
conditional pardon by the President of
the Philippines shall have violated any of
the terms thereof;
h. Those whose maximum term of
imprisonment does not exceed one (1)
year or those with definite sentence;

12
i. Those suffering from any mental
disorder as certified by a government
psychiatrist/psychologist;
j. Those whose conviction is on appeal or
has not yet become final and executory;

In case the prisoner has one or more co-


accused who had been convicted, the
Director/Warden concerned shall forward
their prison records and carpetas at the same
time.
k. Those who have pending criminal case/s;
l. Those national prisoners serving
sentence in a municipal, city, district or
provincial jail unless the confinement in
said jail is in good faith or due to
circumstances beyond the prisoners’
control;

A national prisoner, for purposes of


these Rules, is one who is sentenced to a
maximum term of imprisonment of more
than three (3) years or to a fine of more than
five thousand pesos; or regardless of the
length of sentence imposed by the Court, to
one sentenced for violation of the customs
law or other laws within the jurisdiction of
the Bureau of customs or enforceable by it,
or to one sentenced to serve two (2) or more
prison sentences in the aggregate exceeding
the period of three (3) years.

Part B. Form and Contents of Petition

13
RULE 2.3 Review Upon Petition or Mota
Proprio; Form and Contents of Petition – A
parole case may be reviewed by the Board upon
petition or motu proprio. Where a petition is filed
by, or on behalf of, a prisoner, the form of said
petition shall substantially comply what that
prescribed by the Board and shall clearly show the
following:

a. that the prisoner’s case eligible for


review by the board; and
b. that he is not disqualified from being
granted parole:

Part C. Procedure

RULE 2.4. Transmittal of carpeta and


Prison Record – The Director or Warden
concerned shall send a prisoner’s prison record and
carpeta to the Board at least one (1) month prior to
the date when his case shall be eligible for review.

RULE 2.5. Publication of Names of


Prisoners Being Considered for Parole – The
Board shall cause the publication in a newspaper of
general circulation the names of prisoners convicted
of heinous crimes or those sentenced to reclusion
perpetua or life imprisonment and whose sentence
has been commuted to an indeterminate prison term
and may be considered for release on parole.

14
RULE 2.6. Notice to Offended Party – In
addition to the publication in a newspaper of
national circulation, the offended party, or his
immediate relatives in the event that the offended
party is unable or otherwise not available, shall be
notified personally or by registered mail and given a
period of thirty (30) days from notice within which
to communicate their comment to the Board
regarding the contemplated grant of parole to the
prisoner.

RULE 2.7. Deferment of Parole When


Safety Compromised – If, based on the report on
pre-parole investigation conducted on the prisoner,
there is clear and convincing evidence that his
release on parole will endanger his own life or those
of his relatives, or the life, safety and well-being of
the victim, his relatives, his witnesses, and the
community, the release of the deferred until the
danger ceases.

Part D. Proceedings of the Board

RULE 2.8. Factors to be Considered in


Review of Parole Cases – The following factors
may be considered by the Board in its review of a
parole case:

a. the degree of prisoner’s rehabilitation


and his institutional behavior or conduct;
b. previous criminal record, if any the risk
to other persons, including the victim
and witnesses and their family and

15
friends, or the community in general, or
the possibility of retaliation by the
victim, his family and friends;
c. the gravity of the offense and the manner
in which it was committed, and
prisoner’s attitude towards the offense
and his degree of remorse;
d. evidence that the prisoner will be
legitimately employed upon release, or
has a place where he will reside; and
e. The age of the prisoner and the
availability of after-care services for the
prisoner who is old, seriously ill or
suffering from physical disability.

RULE 2.9. Grant of Parole – the Board


may grant a prisoner parole based on reports
regarding the prisoner’s work and conduct and on
the study and investigation by the Board itself and it
finds the following circumstances are present:

a. That the prisoner is fitted by his training


for release:
b. That there is a reasonable probability
that, if released, he will live and remain
at liberty without violating the law; and
c. That his release will not be incompatible
with the welfare of society.

RULE 2.10. Meetings – The Board shall


meet in executive session regularly or upon the call
of the Chairman.

16
RULE 2.11. Quorum – A majority of all
the members of the board shall constitute a quorum.

RULE 2.12. Board Action – A majority of


the members of the Board, constituting a quorum,
shall be necessary to support a decision of the board
or to carry out any action. However, in order to
grant parole, to modify any of the terms and
conditions appearing in a Release Document, to
order the arrest and recommitment of a parolee, and
to issue certificate of final Release and discharge to
a parolee, the decision or action must be supported
by at least four (4) votes of the members of the
Board.

The minutes of the meeting of the board


shall show the votes of its individual members and
reason or reasons for voting for or against any
matter presented for the approval of the Board. Any
dissent from the decision to grant or deny parole
shall be reduced in writing and shall form part of the
records of the proceedings.

RULE 3
RULES AFTER GRANT OF PAROLE

Part A. Parole Supervision

Rule 3.1 Release; form of Release


Document – A prisoner shall be released upon the
grant of parole. Such grant of parole shall be
evidenced by the Release Document, which shall be
in the form prescribed by the board and shall

17
contain the latest 1” x 1” photograph and right
thumbprint of the prisoner.

RULE 3.2. Transmittal of Release


Document – The Board shall send a copy of the
Release Document to the prisoner through the
Director of Corrections or Warden of the jail where
he is confined. On the date of actual release of the
prisoner, the Director or Warden concerned shall
send a certification of said release to the Probation
and Parole Officer specified in the Release
Document.

RULE 3.3. Parole Supervision – After


release from confinement, the parolee shall be
placed under the supervision of the Probation and
Parole Officer specified in the Release Document so
that the former may be guided and assisted towards
rehabilitation. The period of parole supervision
shall extend up to the expiration of the maximum
sentence, which should appear in the Release
Document.

RULE 3.4. Presentation of Probation and


Parole Officer – Within the period prescribed in his
Release Document, the parolee shall present himself
to the Probation and Parole Officer specified in the
Release Document for supervision.

If the parolee fails to report within forty five


(45) days from the date of his release from
confinement, the Probation and Parole Officer shall

18
inform the Board of such failure for the Board’s
appropriate action.

RULE 3.5. Arrival Report – Within


fifteen (15) working days from the date when the
parolee reported for supervision, the Probation and
Parole Officer concerned shall inform the Board,
through the Technical Service of the Parole and
Probation Administration, of such fact.

RULE 3.6. Mandatory Conditions of


Supervision – It shall be mandatory for a parolee to
comply with the terms and conditions appearing in
the Release Document

RULE 3.7. Review and Modification of


Conditions – The Board may, motu proprio or upon
recommendation for the Probation and Parole
Officer, revise or modify and terms and conditions
appearing in the Release Document.

RULE 3.8. Transfer of Residence - A


parolee may not transfer from the place of residence
designated in his Release document without the
prior written approval of the Regional director
subject to the confirmation of the Board.

RULE 3.9. Outside Travel – A Chief


Probation and Parole Officer may authorize a
parolee to travel outside his area of operational
jurisdiction for a period of not more than thirty (30)
days. A travel for more than 30 days shall be
approved by the regional Director.

19
RULE 3.10. Travel Abroad and/or Work
Abroad – Any parolee under active
supervision/surveillance who has no pending
criminal case in any court may apply for overseas
work or travel abroad. However, such application
for travel abroad shall be approved by the Parole
and Probation Administration and confirmed by the
Board.

RULE 3.11. Death of Parolee – If a parolee


dies during parole supervision, the Probation and
Parole Officer shall immediately transmit a certified
true copy of the parolee’s death certificate to the
Board recommending the closing of the case,
However, in the absence of a death certificate, an
affidavit narrating the circumstances of the fact of
death from the barangay chairman or any authorized
officer or any immediate relative where the parolee
resided, shall suffice.

Part B. Infraction/Violation of the Terms


And conditions of the Release Document

RULE 3.12. Reports – The Probation and


Parole Officer concerned shall submit the following
reports to the board:

a. A Progress Report when a parolee commits


another offense during the period of his
parole supervision and the case filed against
him has not yet been decided by the court or

20
on the conduct of the parolee while under
supervision;
b. An Infraction Report when the parolee has
been subsequently convicted of another
crime;
c. A Violation Report when a parolee commits
any violation of the terms and conditions
appearing in his Release document or any
serious deviation or non-observance of the
obligations set forth in the parole
supervision program.

RULE 3.13. Arrest of Parolee – Upon receipt


of an Infraction Report, the board may order the
arrest or recommitment of the parolee.

RULE 3.14. Effect of Recommitment of


Parolee – The parolee who is recommitted to prison
by the Board shall be made to serve the remaining
unexpired portion of the maximum sentence for
which he was originally committed to prison.

RULE 3.15. Withdrawal of Release


Document – The Board may recommend the
withdrawal of the Release document if it finds that
material information given by the parolee of the
board, either before or after release, was false, or
incomplete or that the parolee had willfully or
maliciously concealed material information from
the Board.

Part C. Termination of Parole Supervision

21
RULE 3.16. Summary Report – After the
expiration of the maximum sentence of a parolee,
the Probation and Parole Officer concerned shall
submit to the Board, through the chief Probation
and Parole Officer, a Summary report on his
supervision of a parolee.

The clearances from the police, court,


prosecutor’s office and barangay officials shall be
attached to the Summary Report.

RULE 3.17. Certificate of Final Release


and Discharge – Upon receipt of the summary
Report, the Board shall, upon the recommendation
of the Chief Probation and Parole Officer that the
parolee has substantially complied with all the
conditions of his Release Document, issue to the
parolee a certificate of final Release and Discharge.

RULE 3.18. Effect of Certificate of Final


Release and discharge – Upon the issuance of a
certificate of final release and discharge, the parolee
shall be finally released and discharged from the
conditions appearing in his release document.
However, the accessory penalties of the law that
have not been expressly remitted therein shall
subsist.

RULE 3.19. Transmittal of Certificate of


Final Release and Discharge – The Board shall
forwarded a certified true copy of the certificate of
Final Release and discharge to the parolee, the
Court which imposed the sentence, the Probation

22
and Parole Officer concerned, the Bureau of
Corrections, the National Bureau of Investigation,
the Philippine National Police, and the Office of the
President.

RULE 4
REPEALING AND EFFECTIVITY CLAUSES

RULE 4.1. Repealing Clause – The Rules


and regulations of the board of Pardons and Parole
dated 20 December 1989 and The Revised Rules
and Regulations of the Board of Pardons and Parole
dated 26 November 2002 are hereby repealed, and
all other existing rules, regulations and resolutions
of the Board, which are inconsistent with these
Rules, are likewise repealed or amended
accordingly.

RULE 4.2. Effectivity Clause – These


Rules shall take upon approval by the Secretary of
Justice and fifteen (15) days after its publication in a
newspaper of general circulation.
Done in Quezon City, this 26th day of June 2003.

Signed
NILO C. MARIANO
Assistant Chief State Prosecutor
and Acting Chairman of the Board
Signed Signed
ESTER DE JESUS-AMOR GREGORIO F. BACOLOD
Member Member

Signed Signed
RAMON A. BARCELONA ARTEMIO C. ASPIRAS
Member Member

23
APPROVED:
Signed
SIMEON A. DATUMANONG
Secretary of Justice
ATTESTED:
Signed
REYNALDO G. BAYANG
Executive Director
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR
RECOMMENDING
EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY

GENERAL PROVISIONS

SECTION 1. Plenary Power of the


President to Grant Executive Clemency – Under
Section 19, Article VII of the Constitution, except in
cases of impeachment, or as otherwise provided in
the Constitution, the President may grant reprieves,
commutations, and pardons, and remit fines and
forfeitures, after conviction by final judgment.
Executive clemency rests exclusively within the
sound discretion of the President, and exercised
with the objective of preventing a miscarriage of
justice or correcting a manifest injustice, such as
when there exist extraordinary circumstances in
which the strict application of the law will result in
manifest injustice.

These guidelines are meant solely for the


guidance of the Board of Pardons and Parole
(hereafter the “Board”) in the performance of its
duty to assist the President in exercising the power
of executive clemency. These guidelines create no
vested or enforceable right in persons applying for
clemency.

24
These guidelines do not restrict the plenary
authority granted to the President under Section 19,
Article VII of the constitution. The President may
review, revise, amend, revoke or affirm the
recommendation of the Board; refer any matter
pertaining to executive clemency to the Board or to
any other agency; or act motu proprio or upon the
recommendation of the Board or of any other
agency.

SECTION 2. Consideration of Cases for


Executive Clemency – The Board may consider
cases for executive clemency upon petition, or
referral of the Office of the President, or motu
proprio.

SECTION 3. Extraordinary Circumstances


– The Board shall recommend to the President the
grant of executive clemency only when there exist
extraordinary circumstances such that the strict
application of the law will result in manifest
injustice, such as when any of the following
circumstances are present:

a. the trial court or appellate court in its


decision recommended the grant of
executive clemency for the prisoner;
b. Under the peculiar circumstances of the
case, the penalty imposed is too harsh
compared to the crime committed;

25
c. Youthful offenders who are over nine (9)
years but under eighteen (18) years of age at
the time of the commission of the offense;
d. Prisoners who are seventy (70) years old and
above whose continued imprisonment is
inimical to their health on humanitarian
grounds;
e. Those who are terminally-ill as certified by a
panel of three (3) government physicians
composed of physician designated by the
Director of the bureau of Corrections, the
Director of the Malacanang Clinic, and a
physician designated by the Secretary of
Health.
f. Alien prisoners where diplomatic
considerations and amity among nations
necessitate review;
g. Such other similar or analogous
circumstances whenever the interest of
justice will be served thereby.

However, notwithstanding the existence of any


extraordinary circumstances, including those
enumerated above, the Board shall not favorably
recommend petitions for/executive clemency of the
following prisoners:

a. Those convicted of Evasion of Service of


Sentence;
b. Those who violated the conditions of their
Conditional Pardon;
c. Those who are habitual delinquents or
recidivists;

26
d. Those convicted of Kidnapping for
Ransom;
e. Those convicted of violation of Republic
Act No. 6425, as amended, otherwise
known as “The Dangerous Drugs Act of
1972”, or Republic Act No. 9165, also
known as “The Comprehensive Dangerous
Drugs Act of 2002”, and other drug-related
offenses;
f. Those convicted of offenses committed
under the influence of drugs; and
g. Those whose release from prison may
constitute a danger to society.

FORM AND CONTENTS OF PETITION

SECTION 4. Petition – When a petition is


filed by, or on behalf of, a prisoner, the form of said
petition shall substantially comply with the form
prescribed by the board and shall clearly show the
following:

a. the prisoner’s biographic data;


b. the details of his conviction; and
c. the grounds upon which executive clemency
is sought.

PROCEDURE

SECTION 5. Referral to Government


Agencies – The Board may, in its discretion, refer a
petition for executive clemency to a Probation and
Parole Officer who shall submit within thirty (30)

27
days from receipt of referral a Report on the
behavior, character antecedents, mental and
physical condition of the petitioner, and the results
of the National Bureau of Investigation records
check.

The Board shall refer matters pertaining to


executive clemency for comment and
recommendations as follows:

a. To the Commission on elections, if it


involves violation of election laws, rules and
regulations, as required by Sec. 5, Art. IX-C
of the Constitution which provides that no
pardon, amnesty, parole, or suspension of
sentence for violation of election laws, rules,
and regulations shall be granted by the
President without the favorable
recommendation of the Commission on
elections;
b. To the Secretary of National Defense and
the Secretary of the Interior and Local
Government, if a case for executive
clemency involves crimes against national
security or public order or the law of
nations; and
c. To the Department of Foreign affairs, if the
prisoner is an alien.

SECTION 6. Transmittal of Carpeta and


Prison Record – The Director or warden concerned
shall forward the prison record and carpeta of a
prisoner being considered for executive clemency.

28
SECTION 7. Notice to convicting Trial
Judge, Prosecutor’s Office, and Offended Party –
In all cases when a prisoner is being considered for
executive clemency, the Board shall notify the
following personally or by registered mail:
a. The convicting trial judge;
b. The prosecutor’s office that handled the
prosecution; and
c. The offended party or, in the event that the
offended party is unavailable for comment
or otherwise cannot be located, the
immediate relatives of the offended party.

Said persons and offices shall be given thirty


(30) days from notice to comment on whether or not
executive clemency may be granted to the prisoner.

SECTION 8. Publication of Names of


Those Being Considered for Executive Clemency
– The Bureau shall cause the publication in a
newspaper of national circulation the names of
prisoners who are being considered for executive
clemency.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD

SECTION 9. Board Deliberation – Any


matter pertaining to executive clemency, including
petitions for executive clemency, shall be decided
by the Board only after deliberation during a
meeting where there is a quorum.

29
SECTION 10. Board Meetings – The
Board shall meet once a week, or oftener upon call
by the chairman, to deliberate matters pertaining to
executive clemency.

SECTION 11. Quorum – A majority of all


the members of the Board shall constitute quorum.

SECTION 12. Contents of Minutes of


Board Meeting – The minutes of the meeting of the
Board shall show the votes of its individual
members and the reason(s) for voting for or against
recommending the grant executive clemency.
Where at least four (4) members vote in favor of
recommending the grant of executive clemency, the
vote of any dissenting member shall be reduced in
writing and shall form part of the records of the
proceedings of the Board.

SECTION 13. Opposition to Grant of


Executive Clemency – When an opposition to the
grant of executive clemency is filed, the board shall
consider the same and may, in its discretion, require
the oppositor to submit supporting evidence.

SECTION 14. Documents to be


Considered – In determining whether there exist
extraordinary circumstances such that the strict
application of the law will result in manifest
injustice, and whether to recommend to the
President the grant of executive clemency, the board
shall consider all relevant documents, such as the
carpeta and prison record of the prisoner, the

30
mittimus or commitment order, prosecutor’s
information and the decision of the trial and
appellate courts.

SECTION 15. Board Recommendation,


Resolution and Certification – At least four (4)
votes of the members of the Board shall be
necessary to recommend the grant of executive
clemency. Said recommendation shall be contained
in a resolution of the Board to be submitted to the
Office of the President, the form of which shall
substantially be as follows:

“RESOLUTION NO.
re (Name of Prisoner or Prisoners)

“During the meeting of the board of Pardons


and Parole held on (Date), at (Time), at (Place),
where the following members, constituting a
quorum, were present:

“(Indicate members present or absent)

“1. The Board discussed the matter


concerning the grant of executive clemency in favor
of (Name of prisoner or prisoners), with the
following circumstances:

a. (A summary of the decision of the trial and


appellate courts, indicating the crime for
which the prisoner(s) was charged and
convicted and the date when his conviction
became final;)

31
b. (His personal circumstances;)
c. (The place where he is serving his sentence
and the date when he commenced the same;
and)
d. (The actual time spent in prison [does not
include Good Conduct Time Allowance];)

“2. After due deliberation, the Board has found


extraordinary circumstances present in the case such
that the strict application of the law will result in
manifest injustice, particularly (Explanation of what
extraordinary circumstances are present);

“3. After due deliberation, the Board, by the


vote of at least four (4) members, hereby
recommends to the President of the Philippines the
grant of executive clemency in favor of the above
named individual(s) in the form of (State whether
the executive clemency being recommended is in
the form of absolute pardon, conditional pardon,
commutation of sentence, or reprieve; If
commutation, state the period; If reprieve, state the
date certain)

For the reason that (State the reason why


said form, or said period, or said date certain, is
being recommended).

“We, the undersigned chairman and


Members of the Board of Pardons and Parole,
hereby certify that after meeting and due
deliberation, we have determined that there exist
extraordinary circumstances such that the strict

32
application of the law will result in manifest
injustice in the case(s) of the individual(s)
mentioned above and that said individual(s) deserve
the grant of executive clemency by the President.”
Where at least four (4) members vote in
favor of recommending the grant of executive
clemency, the vote of any dissenting member and
the reasons therefore shall be stated in the resolution
of the Board.

SECTION 16. Supporting Documents –


The Board shall submit all relevant documents to
the Office of the President along with its resolution
recommending the grant of executive clemency,
including the following documents:

a. A summary in matrix form of the following


information about the prisoner:

i. Name;
ii. Crime for which convicted;
iii. Penalty imposed;
iv. Actual time spent in prison (not including
Good Conduct Time Allowance)
v. If recommended for commutation:
(a) Recommended commuted term;
(b) Time to be served without
commutation;
(c) Time to be served with commutation

vi. State whether:


(a) Convicted (prior or subsequent
to conviction of crime for which

33
executive clemency is sought)
for Kidnap for Ransom or any
drug-related offense; and
(b) Previously granted executive
clemency.

b. The prisoner’s carpeta, prison record, and


mittimus or commitment order;

c. The prosecutor’s information, the decision of the


trial court, the decision of the appellate courts, if
any, and the certificate of finality of judgment; and

d. Pertinent minutes of the board meetings.

GUIDELINES AFTER GRANT OF


EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY

SECTION 17. Implementation of


President’s Grant of Executive Clemency – Upon
receipt from the Office of the President of the
documents evidencing the President’s grant of
executive clemency, the Board shall cause the
immediate implementation of said grant of
executive clemency.

The Board shall send a copy of said


document to the prisoner, through the director of the
Bureau of corrections or Warden of the jail where
he is confined.

SECTION 18. Certificate of Release –


When the grant of executive clemency entitles the

34
prisoner to be released from prison, the director of
the Bureau of corrections or Warden of the jail
where he is confined shall, on the date of actual
release of the prisoner, send a certification of
release to the Board and, if the document
evidencing the President’s grant executive clemency
so states, to the concerned Probation and Parole
Officer.

SECTION 19. Monitoring of Compliance


with Conditions of Pardon – Where the President
grants conditional pardon to a prisoner, the Board
shall monitor the prisoner’s compliance with the
conditions imposed for the duration of the period
stated in the document evidencing the President’s
grant of executive clemency. The Board shall also
determine whether said prisoner has complied with
or violated the conditions of his pardon.

To assist the Board in monitoring


compliance with the conditions imposed upon
pardon, the Board shall place the prisoner under the
supervision of a Probation and Parole Officer.

SECTION 20. Presentation to Probation


and Parole Officer – Within the period prescribed
in the document evidencing the President’s grant of
executive clemency, the prisoner shall present
himself to the Probation and Parole Officer
concerned. The Probation and Parole Officer shall
inform the Board if the prisoner fails to report
within forty five (45) days from the date of his
release from confinement.

35
SECTION 21. Arrival Report – The
Probation and Parole Officer shall submit his
Arrival Report to the board, through the Technical
Service of the Parole and Probation Administration,
within fifteen (15) working days from the date when
the prisoner reported for supervision.

SECTION 22. Violation Report – If a


prisoner granted conditional pardon violates any of
the conditions of his conditional pardon or commits
any serious deviation or non-observance of the
obligations imposed under the supervision program,
the Probation and Parole Officer concerned shall
immediately submit a violation Report to the Board.

SECTION 23. Infraction and Progress


Report – If a prisoner granted conditional pardon is
charged with committing another offense during the
period of his supervision, the Probation and Parole
Officer concerned shall periodically submit a
Progress Report to the Board detailing the progress
of the case filed against the prisoner. If said
prisoner is eventually convicted, the same officer
shall submit and Infraction Report.

SECTION 24. Death of Prisoner Under


Supervision – If a prisoner granted conditional
pardon dies during the period of supervision, the
Probation and Parole Officer shall immediately
transmit a certified true copy of the prisoner’s death
certificate to the Board recommending the closing
of the case. However, in the absence of a death

36
certificate, an affidavit narrating the circumstances
of the fact of death from the barangay chairman or
any authorized officer or any immediate relative
where the prisoner resided, shall suffice.

SECTION 25. Recommendation for


Arrest of Prisoner for Violation of Conditions of
Pardon – Upon determination that a prisoner
granted conditional pardon has violated the
conditions of his pardon, the board shall recommend
his arrest or recommitment to the President.

SECTION 26. Summary Report – Upon


the expiration of the period stated in the document
evidencing the President’s grant of executive
clemency, the Probation and Parole Officer
concerned shall submit to the Board, through the
Chief Probation and Parole Officer, a Summary
Report on his supervision of the prisoner.

The clearances from the police, court,


prosecutor’s office and barangay officials shall be
attached to the Summary Report.

SECTION 27. Certificate of Compliance


with Conditional Pardon – Upon receipt of the
Summary Report, the board shall, upon the
recommendation of the chief Probation and Parole
Officer that the prisoner granted conditional pardon
has complied with all the conditions of his pardon,
issue a Certificate of Compliance with Conditional
Pardon.

37
SECTION 28. Transmitted of Certificate
of Compliance with Conditional Pardon – The
Board shall forward a certified true copy of the
Certificate of Compliance with Conditional Pardon
to the prisoner, the Court which imposed the
sentence, the Probation and Parole Officer
concerned, the Bureau of Corrections, the National
Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine National
Police, and the Office of the President.

SECTION 29. Executive Clemency of an


Alien – An alien who is released on pardon shall be
referred to the Bureau of Immigration for
disposition, documentation and appropriate action.

REPEALING AND EFFECTIVITY CLAUSES

SECTION 30. Repealing Clause – The


portions pertaining to executive clemency of The
Rules and Regulations of the Board of Pardons and
Parole dated 20 December 1989 and the Revised
Rules and Regulations of the Board of Pardons and
Parole dated 26 November 2002 are hereby
repealed, and all other existing rules, regulations
and resolutions of the Department of Justice and the
Board which are inconsistent with these Guidelines
are likewise repealed or amended accordingly.

SECTION 31. Effectivity Clause – These


Guidelines shall take effect upon approval by the
Secretary of Justice and fifteen (15) days after its
publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

38
Done in Quezon City, this 26th day of June
2003.
Signed
NILO C. MARIANO
Assistant Chief State Prosecutor
And Acting Chairman of the Board

Signed Signed
ESTER DE JESUS AMOR GREGORIO F. BACOLOD
Member Member

Signed Signed
RAMON A. BARCELONA ARTEMIO C. ASPIRAS
Member Member

APPROVED:
Signed
SIMEON A. DATUMANONG
Secretary of Justice
ATTESTED:
Signed
REYNALDO G. BAYANG
Executive Director

Probation

Probation is another form of non-


institutional corrections practices that gives a
sentenced convict the chance to reform and
rehabilitate himself without having to spend time in
jails. Probation does not confine to prison a
sentenced prisoner but rather he will released and
undergo personalized community based treatment,
while in parole, the parolee will have to serve a
portion of his sentence before he is eligible for
parole.
Probation

Probation is a form of non-institutional


based correctional practices that gives a sentenced

39
convict the chance to reform and rehabilitate
himself without having to spend time in jails.
Probation does not confine to prison a sentenced
prisoner but rather released and undergo
personalized community based treatment.

Probation is a disposition under which a


defendant, after conviction and sentence, is released
to the supervision of a probation officer subject to
conditions imposed by the court. The probation
officer shall supervise and program the individual
treatment of the probationer under his care. At any
time during probation, the court may issue a warrant
for the arrest of a probationer for any serious
violation of the conditions of probation, the
probationer, once arrested and detained, shall
immediately be brought before the court for a
hearing of the violation charged. If revoked, the
court shall order the probationer to serve the
sentence originally imposed in prison.

The Probation and Parole Administration


under the Department of Justice supervises and
controls all probation officers and promulgates rules
and procedures on probation process, subject to the
approval of the Secretary of justice. The period of
probation of a defendant sentenced to a term of
imprisonment of not more than one (1) year shall
not exceed two years, and in all other cases, said
period shall not exceed six (6) years.

When the sentence imposes a fine only and


the offender is made to serve subsidiary

40
imprisonment in case of insolvency, the period of
probation shall not be less than nor be more than
twice the total number of days of subsidiary
imprisonment as computed at the rate established in
article thirty-nine of the revised Penal code as
amended.

Advantages of Probation

Probation is more advantageous than


imprisonment. In Probation, the person is spared
the degrading, embittering and disabling experience
of imprisonment, which might only confirm them in
criminal ways. On the other hand, the offender can
continue to work in his place of employment.
Family ties remain intact, thus preventing many
broken home. In addition, Probation is less
expensive which is only one tenth as costly as
imprisonment. To the extent that probation is being
used today about 60% of convicted offenders are
given probation this type of sentencing therefore,
will greatly relieve prison congestion.

Who are disqualified for Probation?

1. Those sentenced to serve a maximum term


of imprisonment of more then six (6) years;

2. Those convicted of subversion or any crime


against National Security or the Public
Order;

41
3. Those who have previously been convicted
by final judgment of an offense punished by
imprisonment of not less than one month
and one day and/or fine of not less than Two
Hundred Pesos (P200.00);

4. Those who have been once on probation


under the provisions of this Decree; and

5. Those who are already serving sentence at


the time the substantive provisions of the
Probation law became applicable.

Difference between Parole and Probation

Parole is different from probation in that the parole


is administrative function of the executive branch of
the government, while the Probation is a judicial
function. In Parole, the offender serves part of the
sentence in prison before he is released, while in
probation, the convicted offender does not need to
go to prison at all. In other words, parole is an
extension of institutional treatment while Probation
is a substitute for imprisonment. The Board grants
parole, while the judge grants Probation. Both
releases are conditional and subject to supervision
of a parole or probation officer.

Differences between Parole and Mandatory or


Conditional Release

Mandatory or conditional release is the


release prescribed by law of a prisoner who has

42
served his term of commitment less “good time” nor
“work time” credits under the parole conditions and
under supervision until the expiration of the
maximum term for which he was sentenced. In
Parole, the prisoner is released after he has served
his minimum or part of his sentence but before the
expiration of his full sentence, while mandatory or
conditional or conditional release, the prisoner is
released under conditions of parole after he has
served his full sentence minus his “good time” or
“work time” credits.

Parole and Indeterminate Sentence Law

Indeterminate sentence is closely connected


with parole. An indeterminate sentence is one with
minimum and maximum periods of imprisonment.
The prisoner is not eligible for parole consideration
until he has served his minimum sentence. Ideally,
the gap between the minimum and maximum
sentence should be wide in order that the process of
rehabilitation in prison may be continued long
enough to make certain its effects.

Probation for youth Offenders (Presidential Decree


603)

The law covering this institutional set-up is


PD 603 which was enacted in 1974 and otherwise
known as the Child and Youth Welfare Code
which suspends the sentences of minor offenders
whose ages range from nine (9) years to eighteen
(18) years and places them in the Rehabilitation

43
Centers under the supervision or custody of the
DSWD or released on probation to custody of
their parents or to any responsible person under
the supervision of the DSWD.

Under this decree, a youth offender under


trial who cannot post bail shall be committed to the
DSWD or to local rehabilitation center or to the
detention home in the provinces or city. There are
ten (10) Regional Rehabilitation Centers for Youth
nationwide. Nine for boys and one for girls. If such
facility is not accessible, the court may commit the
youth to a jail where they will be confined in
quarters separate from other offenders.

Presidential decree 1179 and 1210 amended


PD 603, to require an application for suspended
sentence before this privilege can be availed of. If
the court find the youth guilty, the court will not
sentence the offender but shall suspend further
proceedings and commit the youth to the custody of
the DSWD, or to any government training
institution. Suspended sentence however became
automatic with the passage of Republic Act 8369
otherwise known as the Family Courts Act of
1997.

The DSWD recognizes that the family has


been an important factor in the offender’s
commission of the crime. The family can and must
play an important role in the offender’s effective
rehabilitation. It is therefore, that the focus of
treatment intervention should not only be the

44
offender but his family as well. Rehabilitation
efforts are focused on maintaining harmonious
relations between the offender, his family, and the
community, strengthening, and empowering them
altogether. Empowering the offender’s family
should be done through awareness building and
values formation regimen.

The law establishing Probation is


Presidential Decree No. 968 otherwise known as
Probation Law of 1976. Then President Ferdinand
E. Marcos issued this law on January 24, 1976.
Since then it has undergone several amendments
through Presidential Decree 1257, Batas Pambansa
Bilang 76 and further amended by Presidential
Decree 1990. This amended Probation Law is
hereby reproduced below:

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 968


ESTABLISHING A PROBATION SYSTEM,
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

WHEREAS, one of the major goals of the


government is to establish a more enlightened and
humane correctional system that will promote the
reformation of offenders and thereby reduce the
incidence of recidivism;

WHEREAS, the confinement of all


offenders in prisons and other institutions with

45
rehabilitation programs constitutes a onerous drain
on the financial resources of the country; and

WHEREAS, there is need to provide a less


costly alternative to the imprisonment of offenders
who are likely to respond to individualized,
community-based treatment programs;

NOW, THEREFORE, I FERDINAND E.


MARCOS, president of the Philippines, by virtue of
the powers vested in me by the constitution, do
hereby order and decree the following:

SEC. 1. Title and Scope of the Decree.- this


decree shall be known as the probation law of 1976.
It shall apply to all offenders except those entitled to
the benefits under the provisions of the presidential
Decree Numbered Six Hundred and Three and
similar laws.

SEC. 2. Purpose. – This decree shall be


interpreted so as to:

(a) Promote the correction and


rehabilitation of an offender by providing him with
individualized treatment;

(b) provide an opportunity for the


reformation of a penitent offender
which might be less probable if he
were to serve a prison sentence; and

(c) prevent the commission of offenses.

46
SEC. 3. Meaning of Terms. – As used in this
decree; the following shall, unless the context
otherwise requires, be construed thus:

(a) “Probation” is a disposition, under


which a defendant, after conviction and sentence, is
released subject to condition imposed by the court
and to supervision of a probation officer,

(b) “Probationer” means a person placed


on probation,

(c) “Probation Officer” means one, who


investigates for the court a referral for probation or
supervises a probationer or both,

SEC. 4. Grant of Probation. – Subject to the


provisions of this Decree, the trial court may, after it
shall have convicted and sentenced a defendant, and
upon application by said defendant within the
period for perfecting an appeal, suspend the
execution of the sentence and place the defendant
on probation for such period and upon such terms
and conditions as it may deem best; provided, That,
no application for probation shall be entertained or
granted if the dependant has perfected an appeal
from the judgment of conviction.

Probation may be granted whether the


sentence imposes a term of imprisonment or a fine

47
only. An application for probation shall be deemed
a waiver of the right to appeal.

An order granting or denying probation shall


not be appeal able.

SEC. 5. Post-Sentence Investigation. – no


person shall be placed on probation except upon
prior investigation by the probation officer and a
determination by the court that the ends of justice
and the best interest of the public as well as that of
the defendant will be served thereby.

SEC. 6. Form of Investigation Report. – the


Investigation report to be submitted by the
probation officer under Section 5 hereof shall be in
the form prescribed by the Probation Administrator
and approved by the Secretary of Justice.

SEC. 7. Period for Submission of


Investigation Report. – The probation officer shall
submit to the court the investigation report on a
defendant not later than sixty days from receipt of
the order of said court to conduct the investigation.
The court shall resolve the application for probation
not later than fifteen days after receipt of said
report.

Pending submission of the investigation and


the resolution of petition, the defendant may be
allowed on temporary liberty under his bailed filed
in the criminal case; Provided, that in case where no
bail filed in the criminal case; Provided, That, in

48
case where no bail was filed or that the defendant is
incapable of filing one, the court may allow the
release of the defendant on recognizance to the
custody of a responsible member of the community
who shall guarantee his appearance whenever
required by the court.

SEC. 8. Criteria for Placing an Offender on


Probation. – In determining whether an offender
may be placed on probation, the courts shall
consider all information relative to the character,
antecedents, environment, mental and physical
condition of the offender and available institutional
and community resources. Probation shall be denied
if the court finds that:

(a) the offender is in need of correctional


treatment that can be provided most
effectively by his commitment to an
institution;

(b) there is an undue risk that during the


period of probation, the offender will
commit another crime; or

(c) Probation will depreciate the


seriousness of the offense
committed.

SEC. 9. Disqualified Offenders. – The


benefits of this Decree shall not be extended to
those:

49
(a) sentenced to serve a maximum term
of imprisonment of more than six (6)
years;

(b) convicted of subversion or any crime


against national security or the public
order;

(c) who have previously been convicted


by final judgment of an offense
punished by imprisonment of not less
than one month and one day and/or
fine of not less than Two Hundred
Pesos (P200.00);

(d) who have been once on probation


under the provisions of this Decree;
and

(e) Who are already serving sentence at


the time the substantive provisions of
this Decree became applicable
pursuant to Sec. 33 hereof.

SEC 10. Conditions of Probation. – Every


probation order issued by the court shall contain
conditions requiring that the probationer shall;

(a) present himself to the probation


officer designated to undertake his
supervision at such place as may be
specified in the order within seventy

50
two (72) hours from receipt of said
order;

(b) Report to the probation officer at


least once a month at such time and
place as specified by said officer.

The court may also require the probationer


to:

(a) cooperate with a program of


supervision;

(b) meet his family responsibilities;

(c) devote himself to specific


employment and not to change said
employment without the prior written
approval of the probation officer;

(d) undergo medical, psychological or


psychiatric examination and
treatment and enter and remain in a
specified institution, when required
for that purpose;

(e) pursue a prescribed secular study or


vocational training;

(f) attend or reside in a facility


established for instruction, recreation
or residence of persons on probation;

51
(g) refrain from visiting houses of ill-
repute;

(h) abstain from drinking intoxicating


beverages to excess;

(i) permit the probation officer or an


authorized social worker to visit his
home and place of work;

(j) reside at premises approved by it and


not to change his residence without
its prior written approval; or

(k) Satisfy any other conditions related


to the rehabilitation of the defendant
and not unduly restrictive of his
liberty or incompatible with his
freedom of conscience.

SEC. 11. Effectivity of Probation Order. – a


probation order shall take effect upon its issuance,
at which time the court shall inform the offender of
the consequence thereat and explain that upon his
failure to comply with any of the conditions
prescribed in the said order or his commission of
another offense, he shall serve the penalty imposed
for the offense under which he was placed on
probation.

SEC. 12. Modification of Conditions of


Probation. – During the period of probation, the
court may, upon application of either the

52
probationer or the probation officer, revise or
modify the conditions or period of probation. The
court shall notify either the probationer or the
probation officer of the filing of such an application
so as to give both parties an opportunity to be heard
thereon.

The court shall inform in writing the


probation officer and the probationer of any change
in the period or conditions of probation.

SEC. 13. Control and Supervision of


Probationer. – The probationer and his probation
program shall be under the control of the court that
placed him on probation subject to actual
supervision and visitation by a probation officer.

Whenever a probationer is permitted to


reside in a place under the jurisdiction of another
court, control over him shall be transferred to the
Executive Judge of the Court of First Instance of
that place, in such a case, a copy of the probation
order, the investigation report and other pertinent
records shall be furnished said Executive Judge.
Thereafter, the Executive Judge to whom
jurisdiction over the probationer is transferred shall
have the power with respect to him that was
previously possessed by the court, which granted
the probation.

SEC. 14. Period of Probation. –

53
(a) The period of probation of a
defendant sentenced to a term of
imprisonment of not more than one
year shall not exceed two years, and
in all other cases, said period shall
not exceed six years.

(b) When the sentence imposes a fine


only and the offender is made to
serve subsidiary imprisonment in
case of insolvency, the period of
probation shall not be less than nor
be more than twice the total number
of days of subsidiary imprisonment
as computed at the rate established in
Article thirty-nine of the Revised
Penal Code, as amended.

SEC. 15. Arrest of Probationers: Subsequent


Disposition. – At any time during probation, the
court may issue a warrant for the arrest of a
probationer for any serious violation of the
conditions of probation, the probationer, once
arrested and detained, shall immediately be brought
before the court for a hearing of the violation
charged. The defendant may be admitted to bail
pending such hearing. In such case, the provisions
regarding release on bail of persons charged with a
crime shall be applicable to probationers arrested
under this provision.

In the hearing, which shall be summary in


nature, the probationer shall have the right to be

54
informed of the violation charged and to adduce
evidence in his favor. The court shall not be bound
by technical rules of evidence but may inform itself
of all the facts, which are material and relevant to
ascertain the veracity of the charge. A prosecuting
officer in any contested hearing shall represent the
State. If the violation is established, the court may
revoke or continue his probation and modify the
conditions thereof. If revoked, the court shall order
the probationer to serve the sentence originally
imposed. An order revoking the grant of probation
or modifying the terms and conditions thereof shall
not be appealable.

SEC. 16. Termination of Probation. – After


the period of probation and upon consideration of
the report and recommendation of the probation
officer, the court may order the final discharge of
the probationer upon finding that he has fulfilled
terms and conditions of his probation and
thereupon, the case is deemed terminated.

The final discharge of the probationer shall


operate to restore to him all civil rights lost or
suspended as a result of his conviction and to fully
discharge his liability for any fine imposed as to the
offense for which probation was granted.

The probationer and the probation officer


shall each be furnished with a copy of such order.

SEC. 17. Confidentiality of Records. –The


Investigation Reports and the supervision history of

55
a probationer obtained under this Decree shall be
privileged and shall not be disclosed directly and
indirectly to anyone other than the Probation
Administration or the court concerned, except that
the court, in its discretion, may permit the
probationer or his attorney to inspect the
aforementioned documents or parts thereof
whenever the best interest of the probationer makes
such disclosure desirable or helpful; Provided,
further, That, any government office or agency
engaged in the correction or rehabilitation of
offenders may, if necessary, obtain copies of said
documents for its official use from the proper court
or the Administration.

SEC. 18. The Probation Administration. –


There is hereby created under the Department of
Justice an agency to be known as the Probation
Administration herein referred to as the
Administration, which shall exercise general
supervision over all probationers.

The Administration shall have such staff,


operating units and personnel as may be necessary
for the proper execution of its functions.

SEC. 19. Probation Administrator. – The


Administration shall be headed by the Probation
Administrator, hereinafter referred to as the
Administrator, who shall be appointed by the
President of the Philippines. He shall hold office
having good behavior and shall not be removed
except for cause.

56
His powers and duties shall be to:

(a) act as the executive officer of the


administration;

(b) exercise supervision and control over


all probation officers;

(c) make annual reports to the Secretary


of Justice in such form as the latter
may prescribe, concerning the
probation, administration and
improvement of the probation
system;

(d) promulgate subject to the approval of


the Secretary of Justice, the
necessary rules relative to the
methods and procedures of the
probation process;

(e) recommend to the Secretary of


Justice the appointment of the
subordinate personnel of his
administration and other offices
established in this decree; and

(f) Generally, perform such duties and


exercise such power as may be
necessary or incidental to achieve the
objectives of this Decree.

57
SEC. 20. Assistant Probation Administrator.
– There shall be an Assistant Probation
Administrator who shall assist the Administrator
and perform such duties as may be assigned to him
by the latter and as may be provided by law. In the
absence of the Administrator, he shall act as head of
the Administration.

He shall be appointed by the President of the


Philippines.

SEC. 21. Qualifications of the Administrator


and Assistant Probation Administrator. – To be
eligible for appointment as Administrator or
Assistant Probation Administrator, a person must be
at least thirty-five (35) years of age, holder of a
master’s degree or its equivalent in either
criminology, social work, corrections, penology,
psychology, sociology, public administration, law,
police science, police administration or relative
fields, and should have at least five years of
supervisory experience, or be a member of the
Philippine Bar with at least seven years of
supervisory experience.

SEC. 22. Regional Office; Regional


Probation Officer. – The Administration shall have
Regional Offices organized in accordance with the
field service area pattern established under the
Integrated Reorganization Plan.

Such regional offices shall be headed by a


Regional Probation Officer who shall be appointed

58
by the President of the Philippines in accordance
with the Integrated Reorganization Plan and upon
the recommendation of the Secretary of Justice.

The Regional Probation Officer shall


exercise supervision and control over all probation
officers within his jurisdiction and Administrator
may assign such duties as to him. He shall have an
annual salary of at least twenty four thousand pesos.

He shall, whenever necessary, be assisted by


an Assistant Regional Probation Officer who shall
also be appointed by the President of the Philippines
upon recommendation of the Secretary of Justice
with an annual salary of at least twenty four
thousand pesos.

SEC. 23. Provincial and City Probation


Officers. – There shall be at least one probation
officer in each province and city who shall be
appointed by the Secretary of Justice upon
recommendation of the Administrator and in
accordance with civil service law and rules.
The Provincial or City Probation Officer
shall receive an annual salary of eighteen thousand
four hundred pesos.
His duties shall be to;

(a) investigate all persons referred to


him for investigation by the proper
court or the Administration;

59
(b) instruct all probationer under his
supervision or that of the probation
aide on the terms and conditions of
their probation;

(c) keep himself informed of the conduct


and conditions of the probationers
under his charge and use all suitable
methods to bring about an
improvement in their conduct and
condition;

(d) maintain a detailed report of his


work, and submit such written
reports as may be required by the
Administration or the court having
jurisdiction over the probationer
under his supervision;

(e) prepare a list of qualified residents of


the province or city where he is
assigned who are willing to act as
probation aides;

(f) supervise the training of probation


aides and oversee the latter’s
supervision of probationers;

(g) exercise supervision and control over


all field assistants, probation aides
and other personnel; and

60
(h) perform such duties as may be
assigned by the Court or the
Administration.

SEC. 24. Miscellaneous Powers of


Provincial and City Probation Officers. – Provincial
or City Probation Officers shall have the authority
within their territorial jurisdiction to administer
oaths and acknowledgments and to take depositions
in connection with their duties and functions under
this Decree. They shall also have, with respect to
probationers under their care, the powers of a police
office.

SEC. 25. Qualifications of Regional,


Assistant Regional, Provincial and City Probation
Officers. – No person shall be appointed Regional
or Assistant Regional, Provincial or City Probation
Officers unless he possesses at least a Bachelor’s
Degree with a major in Social Work, Sociology,
Psychology, Criminology, Penology, Corrections,
Police Science, Police Administration, related fields
and has at least three (3) years of experience in
work requiring any of the above-mentioned
disciplines or is a member of the Philippine Bar
with at least three (3) years of supervisory
experience.

Whenever practicable, the Provincial or City


Probation Officer shall be appointed from among
qualified residents of the Province or City where he
will be assigned to work.

61
SEC. 26. Organization. – Within twelve (12)
months from the approval of this Decree, the
Secretary of Justice shall organize the
administrative structure of the Administration and
the other agencies created herein. During said
period, he shall also determine the staffing patterns
of the Regional, Provincial, and City Probation
Offices with the end in view of achieving maximum
efficiency and economy in the operations of the
probation system.

SEC. 27. Field Assistants, Subordinate


Personnel. – Provincial or City Probation Officers
shall be assisted by such field assistants and
subordinate personnel as may be necessary to
enable them to carry out their duties effectively.

SEC. 28. Probation Aides. – To assist the


Provincial or City Probation Officer in the
supervision of probationers the Probation
Administration shall appoint citizens of good repute
and probity to act as probation aides.

Probation aides shall not receive any regular


compensation for services except for reasonable
travel allowance. They shall hold office for such
period as may be determined by the Probation
Administrator. Their qualifications and maximum
caseloads shall be provided in the Rules
promulgated pursuant to this Decree.

SEC. 29. Violation of Confidential Nature of


Probation Records. – The penalty of imprisonment

62
ranging from six months and one day to six years
and a fine ranging from Six Hundred (P600) to Six
Thousand Pesos (P6, 000.00) shall be imposed upon
any person who violates Section 17 thereof.

The Implementing Rules and Regulations


covering the implementation of this Probation Law,
Memorandum Order No. 15 series of 99 dated
August 11, 1999 was issued by the Secretary of
Justice. Hereunder is the IRR:

PAROLE AND PROBATION


ADMINISTRATION OMNIBUS RULES ON
PROBATION METHODS AND PROCEDURES

Pursuant to the authority vested by law on


the Secretary of Justice, the following implementing
rules and regulations are hereby promulgated
according to the provisions of Sections 19 (d) and 6
of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 968, the Probation
Law of 1976, embodied in Sections 23-25 Chapter 7
Title III, Book IV, Executive Order No. 292,
otherwise known as the Administrative Code of
1987.

l. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 1. Title. – These Rules shall be


known and cited as the “Parole and Probation
Administration Omnibus Rules on Probation
Methods and Procedures” or for brevity, “Probation
Rules” or simply “Rules”.

63
Section 2. Policy Objectives and
Declared Purposes. – These Rules are adopted to
carry out the purposes of PD 968, as follows:

a. To promote the correction and


rehabilitation of an offender by providing him with
individualized community based treatment;

b. To provide an opportunity for his


reformation and re-integration into the community;
and

c. To prevent the commission of


offenses.

Section 3. Liberal Construction. – These


Rules shall be liberally construed so as to
successfully, efficiently, and effectively implement,
carry out and effectuate the social justice spirit,
intent, and rationale or, summarily, the “spirit and
intent” of the Probation Law, and the pertinent
provisions of the Administrative Code of 1987, and
the policy objectives and declared purposes of these
Rules, in line with the well-settled social justice
orientation of the 1987 Constitution.

In the event of doubt, or conflict, the spirit


and intent of the Probation Law and these Rules
shall prevail over the letter or literal provisions
thereof, considering that they partake of social
legislation and are special laws in nature or
character.

64
Section 4. Definition of terms. – As used in
these Rules, unless the context provides otherwise,
the following terms shall be construed, thus:

(a) “Probation” – a disposition under which


a defendant, after conviction and sentence, is
released subject to conditions imposed by the Trial
Court and to the supervision of a Probation Officer;

(b) “Petitioner” – a convicted defendant who


files an application for probation;

(c) “Probationer” – a person who is placed


under probation;

(d) “Probation Officer” – public officer like


the Chief Probation and Parole Officer (CPPO),
Supervising Probation and Parole Officer (SPPO),
Senior Probation and Parole Officer (SrPPO),
Parole and Probation Officer II (PPOII), or Parole
and Probation Officer I (PPOI), who investigates for
the Trial Court a referral for probation or supervises
a probationer or does both functions and performs
other necessary and related duties and functions as
directed;

(e) “Trial Court” – refers to the Regional


Trial Court (RTC) of the province or city/municipal
court which has jurisdiction over the case;

65
(f) “Probation Office” – refers either to the
Provincial or City Probation Office directed to
conduct investigation or supervision referrals as the
case may be; and

(g) “Probation Order” – order of the Trial


Court granting probation.

The appearance of the above-mentioned


Parole and Probation Administration (PPA)
officials, upon written invitation or order of the
Trial Court, may be on issues on probation services
only not on legal questions, the latter issue being
within the province of the courts to decide or
resolve.

Section 5. Amicus Curiae – Upon written


invitation by the Trial Court the Administrator
and/or Deputy Administrator, for the Agency Level,
Regional Director, for the Regional Level, Chief
Probation and Parole Officer, for the City or
Provincial Level may appear as amicus curiae on
any probation investigation and supervision issue,
concern or matter.

II. APPLICATION FOR


PROBATION

Section 6. Filing. - Application for


probation shall be filed with the Trial Court, which
has jurisdiction over the case.

66
Section 7. Time for Filing. – The applicant
shall file his application with the Trial Court at any
time after conviction and sentence but within the
period for perfecting his appeal as provided by the
Rules of Court.

Section 8. Form. – The application for


probation shall be in the form approved by the
Secretary of Justice as recommended by the
Administrator or as may be prescribed by the
Supreme Court. Official application form or Xerox
copy of the same may be obtained or secured from
any city or provincial parole and probation office
for free.

Section 9. Notice to the Prosecuting Officer


of the Filing of the Applicant. – The Trial Court
may notify the concerned prosecuting officer of the
filing of the applicant at a reasonable time it deems
necessary, before the scheduled hearing thereof.

Section 10. Comment. – The Prosecuting


Officer may submit his comment(s), if any, on the
application within a reasonable time given to him by
the Trial Court from his receipt of the notice to
comment.
Section 11. Referral to Proper Probation
Office. – If the Trial Court finds that the application
is in due form and the applicant appears to be
qualified for the grant of probation, it shall order the
city or provincial Parole and Probation Office
within its jurisdiction to conduct a Post-Sentence

67
Investigation (PSI) on the applicant and submit the
Post-Sentence Investigation Report (PSIR), within
sixty (60) days from receipt of the order of said
court to conduct such investigation with findings
and recommendations as stated in PD 968, as
amended.

Section 12. Docket Book. – All court orders


for PSI, copies of which were received by the
Probation Office, shall be numbered consecutively
in the order received by said Office and recorded in
its Docket Book for the purpose indicating therein,
among others, the date of receipt thereof, court, its
branch and address, applicant’s name, criminal case
no., description/designation of the offense, penalty
imposed, and other related data and information.
Corollary to this, the Trial Court may direct the
applicant to report to the proper probation office
within seventy-two (72) hours from his receipt of
such order.

Section 13. Effect of Filing and Receipt. –

(a) The Trial Court may, upon receipt of


the application filed, suspend the
execution of the sentence imposed on
the judgment.

(b) Pending the submission of the PSIR


(PPA Form 3) and the Resolution on
the application, the applicant may be
allowed on temporary liberty under
his bail filed in the criminal case:

68
Provided, That, in case where no bail
was filed or the applicant is
incapable of filing one, the trial court
may allow the release of the
applicant on recognizance to the
custody of a responsible member of
the community who shall guarantee
his appearance whenever required by
the trial court.

III. POST-SENTENCE INVESTIGATION

Section 14. Assignment – After receipt from


the Trial Court, the City or Provincial Parole and
Probation Office concerned, through the CPPO shall
assign the same to the office clerk for docketing and
eventual assignment to a subordinate investigating
Probation Officer for the conduct of the PSI or
conduct such investigation himself.

Section 15. Initial Interview Work Sheet:


Waiver. –

(a) Within five (5) working days from


receipt of said delegated assignment
(or self-assignment), the
investigating Probation Officer on
case (or Chief Probation and Parole
Officer) shall initially interview the
applicant if he appeared in the
Probation Office upon response to
the seventy-two (72) hours limitation

69
given to him by the Trial Court. If
not, the Probation Officer on case
may write the applicant in his court
given address or personally visit
applicant’s place to schedule an
initial interview at the Probation
Office.

During such initial interview, the Probation


Officer on case or CPPO shall require the applicant
to accomplish and sign a Post-Sentence
Investigation Work Sheet (PPA Form 1). The
Investigating Probation Officer on case or CPPO
shall conduct further investigation based on the
information contained therein.

(c) A Waiver-Cum-Authorization (PPA


Form 2), authorizing the PPA and/or
Probation Office to secure any and
all information on the applicant, shall
be duly executed and signed by him.

Section 16. Scope and Extent. – After


accomplishing the Post-Sentence Investigation
Work Sheet and the Waiver-Cum-Authorization, the
same shall be immediately submitted to the
Probation Office. The investigating Probation
Officer on case or CPPO shall conduct a thorough
investigation on the antecedents, mental and
physical condition, character, socio-economic
status, and criminal records, if any of the applicant
and the institutional and community resources for
his rehabilitation.

70
In case applicant has a criminal record(s),
such should be verified with the proper government
agency (ies) as to its disposition/resolution that
has/have to be properly reflected in the PSIR. For
the sake of obtaining additional information or
clarify conflicting data, the investigating Probation
Officer on case may conduct further investigation
and interview to avoid discrepancies of
fact/information.

The investigating Probation Officer on case


or the CPPO shall assess and recommend or
prescribe the suitable probation treatment and
supervision program upon the applicant, if granted
probation.

Section 17. Collateral Information. – During


the conduct of the PSI, collateral information must
be gathered from those persons who have direct
personal knowledge to the applicant, offender party,
family member, and/or their relatives, including
barangay officials or disinterested persons.

Section 18. Subsequent or Further Interview.


– To obtain additional data, countercheck or clarify
discrepancy (ies) between the information received
from the applicant and those secured from other
sources, the investigating Probation Officer on case
or CPPO may conduct subsequent or further
interviews on the applicant and/or other persons as
deemed appropriate.

71
Section 19. Nature of Interview. – The data
and information gathered from the interview of the
applicant and/or other persons and from other
collateral informants, as well as law enforcement
agencies, shall be strictly privileged and
confidential in nature.

During such interview and information-


gathering processes, the applicant does not
necessarily need to be represented and assisted by
counsel.

Section 20. Confidentiality of Post-Sentence


Investigation Information. – The investigating
Probation and Parole Officer on case or CPPO shall
inform the applicant of the confidential nature of the
information taken during the PSI and the limited
scope and extent, whereby said information, may be
disclosed to some statutorily designated authorities
and entities pursuant to Section 17 of PD 968, as
amended, and Section 64 of these Rules.

Section 21. Absconding Applicant. – If the


applicant whose application for probation has been
given due course by the proper court has failed to
present himself/herself to the proper Office within
seventy-two (72) hours from his/her receipt of the
Probation Order or within reasonable time there
from, said Office shall first exert best diligent
efforts to inquire on, search, find and locate his/her
whereabouts before it shall report such fact with
appropriate recommendation to the proper court,
considering its surrounding circumstances of place,

72
date and time, his/her health condition and other
related factors.

IV. POST- SENTENCE


INVESTIGATION REPORT

Section 22. Submission. – After the


completion of the PSIR (PPA Form 3), the
Probation Office shall submit such PSIR to the Trial
Court within the period prescribed in Section 7 of
the Probation Law of 1976 as amended or within the
period ordered by the Trial Court.

Section 23. Purpose. – The PSIR aims to


enable the Trial Court to determine whether or not
the ends of justice and the best interest of the public
primarily, as well as that of the applicant, would be
served by the grant of denial of the applicant.

Section 24. Contents. – (a) The PSIR shall


contain, among others, the following:

i. Circumstances surrounding the crime or


offense for which the applicant was convicted and
sentenced, taken from the applicant himself,
offended party and others, who might have
knowledge of the commission of the crime or
offense, or pertinent information taken from the
police and other law enforcement agencies, if any,
and Trial Court records;

ii. details of other criminal records, if any;

73
iii. personal circumstances, educational,
economic-socio civic data and information about the
applicant;

iv. characteristics of applicant, employable


skills, employment history, collateral information;

v. evaluation and analysis of the applicant’s


suitability and legal capacity for probation and his
potential for the rehabilitation, reform,
development, transformation and re-integration into
the community;

vi. recommendation to: (A) grant the


application, including probation period, probation
conditions and probation treatment and supervision
plan/program: or (B) deny the application;

vii. data and information on the applicant’s


financial condition and capacity to pay, his civil
liability, if any;

viii. results of findings of drug psychological


and clinical tests conducted, if any;

ix. results of criminal records, if any,


whether decided or still pending furnished by
various law enforcement agencies tapped by the
Probation Office for such purpose;

x. result(s) of courtesy investigation,


whether GCI/FBCI or PGCI (see Sec. 27 of these
Rules), if any, conducted in the birthplace or place

74
of origin of applicant especially if he plan to reside
thereat while on probation, if ever his application
will be granted; and

xi. other analogous and related matters.

(b) to obtain additional data or clarify


discrepancies between the
information received from the
applicant and those secured from
other sources, the investigating
Probation Officer and/or Chief
Parole and Probation Officer may
conduct such subsequent or further
interviews on the applicant and/or
other persons as may be deemed
proper and necessary.

Section 25. Nature of Recommendation. –


The entire PSIR submitted to the Trial Court is
recommendatory in nature and the final
recommendation continued on the last page of the
PSIR is persuasive in character addressed to the
sound discretion of the Trial Court considering that
the denial or grant of probation is a judicial
function.

Section 26. Signatories. – The PSIR shall, as


a rule, be prepared by the investigating Probation
Officer on case and approved by the CPPO. Both
shall initial each and all the pages thereof, except
the last page on which they shall affix their
respective signatures.

75
V. FULL BLOWN COURTESY
INVESTIGATION AND
TRANSFER OF CONDUCT OF REFERRAL
INVESTIGATION

Section 27. Its Nature and Coverage. – Full


Blown Courtesy Investigation (FBCI) is a General
Courtesy Investigation (GCI) from another city or
provincial parole and probation office, which
request for a complete PSIR on a petition for
probation pending referral investigation in the
Probation Office of origin.

It shall take place when upon initial


investigation it is gathered that:

(a) Applicant for probation is a transient


offender in the place of commission
of the crime and/or a permanent
resident of another place;

(b) He spent his pre-adolescent and/or


adolescent life in the province or city
of origin;

(c) He attended and/or finished his


education thereat; and

(d) His immediate family members,


collateral informants or disinterested
persons and officials who can best
authenticate the inter-family

76
relationship, upbringing, behavior of
the applicant for probation in the
community are residents of the place
of his origin.

Section 28. Transfer of Referral


Investigation. – When proper under the immediately
preceding section and warranted under the
circumstances, a FBCI, may be brought to the
attention of the Trial Court to transfer the conduct
of the referral investigation to the Probation Office
of the province or city of origin of applicant for
probation.

Section 29. Transfer to the Executive Judge.


– In case of the suitability for probation of the
applicant for probation, it shall be recommended in
the PSIR by the Probation Office, that simultaneous
with the grant of probation, the control over the
applicant and his probation rehabilitation program
be transferred to the Honorable Executive Judge of
the RTC of the province or City of origin subject to
the actual visitation and supervision of the
Probation Office of said province or city.

Section 30. General Courtesy Investigation.


– All other General Courtesy Investigation (GCI)
mentioned in the three (3) preceding sections not
falling within the purview of a FBCI to be
conducted by another Probation Office shall be
known as Partial Courtesy Investigation (PCI)
which should no longer be brought to the attention
of the Trial Court for the transfer of the conduct of

77
the referral investigation as mentioned in Section 27
of these Rules.

To facilitate immediate and thorough


investigation of cases, and to save time, effort and
money on the part of the investigating SPPOs,
SrPPOs, PPOs II, PPOs I, the GCI which is usually
undertaken outside the area of a Probation office’s
jurisdiction (i.e. from Manila to Valenzuela, from
Manila to Quezon City, from Manila to Marikina,
etc. and vice versa) shall henceforth, be resorted to,
considering the monstrous traffic nowadays.

VI. PROBATION ORDER

Section 31. Period to Resolve the


Application for Probation. – The application for
probation shall be resolved by the Trial Court not
later than fifteen (15) days from the date of its
receipt of the PSIR.

Section 32. Nature of Probation: Effect of


the Grant to Probation. –

(a) Probation is but a mere privilege and


as such, its grant or denial rests
solely upon the sound of discretion
of the Trial Court. After its grant it
becomes a statutory right and it shall
only be cancelled or revoked for
cause and after due notice and
hearing.

78
(b) The grant of probation has the effect of
suspending the execution of
sentence. The Trial Court shall order
the release of the probationer’s cash
or property bond upon which he was
allowed temporary liberty as well as
release the custodian on ROR front
his undertaking.

Section 33. Effectivity of Probation Order. –


A probation order shall take effect upon its issuance
at which time the court shall inform the offender of
the consequences thereat and explain that upon his
failure to comply with any of the conditions
prescribed in the said order or his commission of
another offence under which he was placed on
probation.

Upon receipt of the Probation Order granting


probation the same shall be entered in a Docket
Book for proper recording.

An order of dental shall be docketed as well.

Section 34. Finality. – The Order of the


court granting or denying probation shall not be
appealable.

VII. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF


PROBATION

Section 35. Mandatory Conditions. – A


Probation order shall require the probationer:

79
(a) to present himself to the Probation
Office for supervision within 72 hours
from receipt of said order; and

(b) to report to the assign SPPO, SrPPO,


PPO II, PPO I, on case at least once a
month during the period of probation
at such time and place as may be
specified by the Probation Office.

Section 36. Other Conditions. – The


Probation order may also require the probationer, in
appropriate cases, to;

(a) cooperate with his program of


probation treatment and supervision;

(b) meet his family responsibility;

(c) devote himself to a specific


employment and not to change said
employment without prior written
approval of the CPPO;

(d) undergo medical, or psychological,


or clinic, or drug or psychiatric
examinations and treatment and
remain in a specified institution,
when required for that purpose;

(e) comply with a program of payment


of civil liability of the offended party
or his heirs, when required by the

80
Trail Court of as embodied in its
decision or resolution;

(f) pursue a prescribed secular study or


vocational training;

(g) attend or reside in a facility


established for instruction, schedule
or residence of persons on probation;

(h) refrain from visiting houses of ill-


repute;

(i) abstain from drinking intoxicating


beverage to excess;

(j) permit the Supervising Probation


Officer on case or authorized social
workers to visit his home and place
of work;

(k) reside at premises approved by the


Trial Court and not to change his
residence without prior written
approval of said court; and/or

(l) satisfy any other conditions related to


his rehabilitation into a useful
citizen, which is not unduly
restrictive of his liberty or
incompatible with his freedom of
conscience.

81
Section 37. Indemnification. – Payment for
civil liability shall be done using the following
modes:

(a) Payment can be given to the Clerk of Court


of the Trial Court, who will in return hand
over the sum to the victim who shall issue a
corresponding receipt; a copy of which
should be given by the probationer to the
Probation Office in order to monitor such
payment;

(b) Payment may be deposited by the


probationer to the victim’s account where
the bankbook is kept at the Probation Office
to be given to the victim for his proper
disposition;

(c) Payment can be effected directly to the


victim and the receipt must be filed in the
supervision record of the probationer kept at
the Probation Office.

Further, that the practice of giving the


payment to the Supervising Probation Office on
case (or the CPPO) to be remitted to the victim,
although with receipts should be highly discouraged
and discontinued out rightly.

VIII. SUPERVISION OF
PROBATIONERS

82
Section 38. Purpose. – The primary purposes
of probation supervision are:

(a) to ensure the probationer’s


compliance with the probation
conditions specified in the Probation
Order and the prescribed probation
treatment and supervision
program/plan;

(b) to manage the process of the


probationer’s rehabilitation and re-
integration into the community; and

(c) to provide guidance for the


probationer’s transformation and
development into a useful citizen for
his eventual reintegration to the
mainstream of society.

Section 39. Commencement of Supervision


Service. – For purposes of these Rules, supervision
service shall commence on the day of initial
interview or reporting of a probationer. Such facts
shall be duly noted in the case notes of the client.

Section 40. Initial Report. –

(a) Upon the probationer’s appearance


for his initial supervision, the
Supervising Probation Officer on
case or CPPO himself shall;

83
i. give instruction to the client
using PPA Form 4 in order to
reinforce probationer’s awareness
of the probation conditions
specified in the Probation Order
in a language or dialect
understood by him;

ii. formulate with the client, the


supervision treatment plan; and

iii. carry out other related activities.

(b) Upon receipt of a copy of PPA Form


No. 4, and a copy of the Probation
Order on a particular probationer and
Probation Office through the CPPO
shall immediately assign the
probation supervision case to his
subordinate Probation Officer.

In the event that the probationer does not


report for initial supervision within the prescribed
period after the Probation Order has been released
by the Trial Court, or his whereabouts are unknown,
the Probation Officer shall exert his best efforts to
find said probationer and conduct such field inquiry
as is necessary within a reasonable period of time,
before considering the fact that the subject has
absconded amounting to a violation of a probation
condition, requiring the preparation and submission
of a Violation Report (PPA Form 8) to the Trial
Court.

84
Section 41. Outside Travel. –

(a) A Probation Officer may authorize a


probationer to travel outside his area
of operational/territorial jurisdiction
for a period of more than (10) days
but not exceeding thirty (30) days.

(b) A Probationer who seeks to travel up


to thirty (30) days outside the
operational/territorial jurisdiction of
the Probation Office shall file at least
five (5) days before the intended
travel schedule a Request for Outside
Travel (PPA Form 7) with said
Office properly recommended by the
Supervising Probation Officer on
case and approved by the CPPO.

(c) If the requested outside travel is for


more than thirty (30) days, said
request shall be recommended by the
CPPO and submitted to the Trial
Court for approval.

(d) Outside travel for a cumulative


duration of more than thirty (30)
days within a period of six (6)
months shall be considered as a
courtesy supervision.

85
Section 42. Change of Residence: Transfer
of Supervision. –

(a) A Probationer may file a Request for


Change of Residence (PPA Form 24)
with the City or Provincial Parole
and Probation Office, citing the
reason (s) therefore this request shall
be submitted by the Supervising
Probation Office for the approval of
the Trial Court.

(b) In the event of such approval, the


supervision and control over the
probationer shall be transferred to the
concerned Executive Judge of the
RTC, having jurisdiction and control
over said probationer, and under the
supervision of the City or Provincial
Parole and Probation Office in the
place to which he transferred.

Thereafter, the Executive Judge of the RTC


to whom jurisdiction over the probationer is
transferred shall have jurisdiction and control with
respect to him, which was previously possessed, by
the court, which granted probation.

(c) The receiving city or provincial


parole and probation office and the
receiving court shall be duly
furnished each with copies of the
pertinent probation order. PSIR (PPA

86
Form 3), and other investigation and
supervision records by the sending
probation office for purposes and in
aid of continuing effective probation
supervision treatment over said
probationer.

Section 43. Absconding Probationer. –

(a) A probationer who has not reported


for initial supervision within the
prescribed period and/or whose
whereabouts could not be found,
located or determined despite best
diligent efforts within reasonable
period of time shall be declared by
the proper office as an absconding
probationer.

(b) Thereafter said office shall file with


the proper court a Violation Report
(PPA Form 8), containing its
findings and recommendation, duly
prepared and signed by the
Supervising Parole and Probation
Officer and duly noted by the Chief
Parole and Probation Officer.

Section 44. Modification or Revision of


Probation Conditions. –

87
(a) During the probation supervision period,
the Trial Court may motu propio or upon
motion by the city or provincial parole
and probation office or by the
probationer or his lawyer.

Section 45. Effectivity and Finality of


Modified or Received Probation Order –

(a) The Trial Court may modify or


revise the probation order, which
shall become effective and final upon
its promulgation and receipt thereof
by the probationer, unless specified
otherwise by said order.

IX. VIOLATION OF PROBATION


CONDITION

Section 46. Concept. – A probationer’s


specific act and/or omission(s) constitutive of a
violation of a probation condition(s) set forth in the
original, modified or revised probation order shall
be reported to the Trial Court taking into account
the totality of the fact and surrounding
circumstances and all possible areas of
consideration.

Section 47. Fact-Finding Investigation. –


Based on reasonable cause reported by a reliable
informant or on his own findings, the SPPO, SrPPO,
PPO II, PPO I concerned or the CPPO himself shall
conduct or require the Supervising Probation

88
Officer on case to immediately conduct a fact-
finding investigation on any alleged or reported
violation of probation condition(s) to determine the
veracity and truthfulness of the allegation.

Section 48. Report: Violation of


Condition. –

(a) After the completion of a fact-


finding investigation, the Supervising
Probation Officer on case shall
prepare a violation report thereon
containing his findings and
recommendation and submit the
same to the CPPO for review and
approval.

(b) In some cases a probationer who has


not reported for initial supervision
within the seventy two (72) hours
from his receipt of the Probation
Order or within the prescribed period
ordered by the Trial Court or whose
whereabouts could not be ascertained
notwithstanding best efforts exerted
within a reasonable period of time by
the City and Provincial Parole and
Probation Office shall be
immediately reported to the Trial
Court for appropriate action.

(c) Thereafter, said Parole and Probation


Office shall file with the Trial Court

89
a Violation Report (PPA From 8)
containing its findings and
recommendations duly prepared and
signed by the SPPO, SrPPO, PPO II.
PPO I concerned and duly noted by
the CPPO for the court’s resolution.

Section 49. Violation Report. Its Contents,


Signatories and Submission to Trial Court. –

(a) The Violation Report shall include,


among others, the following:

i. accurate and complete statement


of the facts and surrounding
circumstances, including but not
limited to the:

a. nature, character and


designation of the
violation;

b. specific acts and/or


omissions constitutive
of the violation;

c. place, date and time


of commission or
omission;

d. statements or
affidavits of
apprehending officers

90
and offended parties;
and

e. other related data and,


information.

ii. probationer’s response,


explanation and clarification duly
sworn to before a notary public
and other supporting testimonial,
documentary and objective
evidence;

iii. findings, assessment and


recommendation of the Probation
Office.

(b) The Violation Report shall be


prepared and signed by the SPPO,
SrPPO, PPO II, or PPO I concerned
and approved and signed by the
CPPO.

Section 50. Arrest of Erring Probationer. –


After having duly considered the nature and gravity
of such reported violation based on the submitted
Violation Report, the Trial Court may issue a
warrant for the arrest of the probationer for serious
violation of his probation condition.

Section 51. Hearing of the Violation of


Probation. – Once arrested and detained, the

91
probationer shall immediately be brought before the
Trial Court for a hearing of the violation charged.

In the hearing, which shall be summary in


nature, the probationer shall have the right to be
informed of the violation charged and to adduce
evidence in his favor.

The court shall not be banned by the


technical rules of evidence, but may inform itself of
all the facts, which are material and relevant to
ascertain the veracity of the charge.

The probationer may be admitted to bail


pending such hearing. In such case, the provisions
regarding release on bail of persons charged with
the crime or offense shall be applicable to
probationers arrested under this provision.

Section 52. Disposition: Effect of


Revocation: Remedy -

(a) After a serious violation of a


probation condition has been
established in the hearing, the
Trial Court may order the
continuance of the probationer’s
probation or modification of this
probation conditions or revoke
his probation whichever is
proper and just under in judicial
discretion.

92
(b) If the probation period has been
revoked, the trial Court shall
order the probationer to serve
the sentence originally imposed
in the judgment of his case for
which he applied for probation.

(c) A court order modifying the


probation conditions as in Sec.
44 of these rules or revoking
probationer’s probation shall not
be appealable. However, it may
be correctable by certiorari
under the Rules of the Court.

Section 53. Right to Counsel. – In the


hearing or proceeding for violation of probation
conditions, the probationer shall have the right to
counsel of his own choice.

Section 54. Representation for the State. –


For the Prosecution of serious violation of probation
condition(s) during said hearing or proceeding, the
State shall be represented by the proper prosecuting
officer.

X. EARLY TERMINATION

Section 55. Coverage. – The following


probationers may be recommended for the early
termination of their probation period:

93
1. Those who are suffering from serious
physical and/or mental disability
such as deaf-mute, the lepers, the
crippled, the bed-ridden, and the like;

2. Those who do not need further


supervision as evidenced by the
following:

(a) Consistent and religious


compliance with all the
conditions imposed in the
order granting probation;

(b) Positive response to the


programs of the supervision
designed to their
rehabilitation;

(c) Significant improvements in


their social and economic
life;

(d) Absence of any derogatory


record while under probation;

(e) Marked improvement in their


outlook in life by becoming
socially aware and
responsible members of the
family and community; and

94
(f) Significant growth in self-
esteem, self-discipline and
self-fulfillment.

Provided that the probationers involved have


already served one third (1/3) of the imposed period
of probation: and provided further that in no case
shall the actual supervision period be less than six
(6) months.

3. Those who have;

(a) To travel abroad due to any


of the following:

(1) An approved overseas


job contract or any
other similar
documents; or

(2) An approved
application for
scholarship,
observation tour or
study grant for a
period not less than
six (6) months; or

(3) An approved
application for
immigration.

95
(4) An approved
application to take the
Bar and Board
Examinations.

(b) To render public service

(1) Having been elected to any


public office; or

(2) Having been appointed to any


public office.

Provided, however, that the probationers


involved have fully paid their civil liabilities, if any.
And, that the probationers were not convicted for
offenses involving moral turpitude.

4. Other probationers who have fully


cooperated with/participated in the programs of
supervision designed for their rehabilitation and
who are situated under conditions/circumstance
similar in nature to those above described at the
discretion of the proper authorities.

Section 56. Procedure.- in the first year of


implementation, the following steps shall be
observed to effect the following termination of
probation.

1. The Supervising Probation Officer


on case who exercises direct

96
supervision over the probationer
shall prepare the motion for the
modification of probation, i.e., early
termination addressed to the Court
which has control the supervision
over the probationer concerned in
accordance with Section 12 of the
Probation Law of 1976, as amended.
The motion shall bear the approval of
the head of the City or Provincial
Parole and Probation Office without
prejudice to the latter taking the
initiative for preparing said motion.

2. The motion shall thereafter be


forward for review and clearance to
the Regional Director who shall act
on said motion within a period of
three (3) days after receipt of the
same.

3. Should the motion be approve by the


Regional Director, the supervising
probation officer on case shall file
the same with the trial court within
two (2) days after receipt thereof.

4. Should the said motion be


disapproved, the same shall be filed
in the supervision case file/record of
the probationer for future reference.

97
5. Should the motion be approved by
the Trial Court, the procedure for
termination, due to successful
completion of probation specified in
the rules shall apply.

XI. PROBATION AIDES

Section 57. Qualifications: functions.-

(a) The Probation Aides must be citizens


of good repute and probity at least 18
years of age on the date of
appointment, at least high school
graduates and preferably residence of
the same locality or community
covering the place of residence of the
probationer and/or the CPPOs,
SPPOs, and SrPPOs, PPOs ll, and
PPOs l.

(b) Probation Aides may be requested to


assist the CPPOs, SPPOs, SrPPOs,
PPOs II, PPOs I in the supervision of
probationers, assigned up to a
maximum case load subject to
administrative and technical
supervision by the above-mentioned
Probation Officers, prepare records
of their activities and accomplish
related reports and prompt

98
submission thereof: and undertake
other related activities. They may be
designated to identify, generate, tap
local community resources or
conduct such activities on skills
training and sports and cultural
programs for clients.

Section 58. Appointment: Term of Office.-

(a) Probation Aides shall be appointed


by the Probation Administrator or
through authority delegated to the
Regional Directors within their
respective areas of responsibility
upon the recommendation of the
CPPOs.

(b) Probation Aides so appointed may


hold office during good behavior for
a period of two (2) years, renewable
at the end of each period; provided,
that, the appointing authority may at
any time terminate the services of
Probation Aides for unsatisfactory
performance for at least two (2)
consecutive semesters as determined
by the proper office and/or for other
lawful and valid cause(s). Thereafter,
his reinstatement shall be determined
by his display of good behavior as
determined by collateral informants
and the appointing authority.

99
Section 59. Caseload. –

(a) In assigning probation supervision


caseload(s) to the Probation Aides,
the Probation Offices shall duly
consider their respective
qualifications, length of service,
work accomplishments, and other
related criteria. And as to maximum
supervision caseload to be given to
them, the Probation Office should,
exercise utmost prudence and
caution.

(b) The maximum supervision caseloads


of a Probation Aide at any given
time, shall be ten (10) probationers
on minimum case classification or
three (3) probationers on maximum
case classification in addition to
other duties.

XII. TERMINATION OF THE PROBATION


SUPERVISION CASE

Section 60. Grounds. – The probation


supervision period may be terminated on any of the
following grounds:

(a) successful completion of probation;

100
(b) probation revocation for cause under
Section 49 (a-c) of these Rules;

(c) death of the probationer;

(d) early termination of probation; or

(e) other analogous cause(s) or


reason(s) on a case-to-case basis as
recommended by the Probation
Office and approved by the Trial
Court.

Section 61. Termination Report. –The City


and Provincial Parole and Probation Office shall
submit to the Trial Court a Probation Officer’s Final
Report (PPA Form 9) thirty (30) days before the
expiration of the period of probation embodying,
among others, the following:

(a) brief personal circumstances of the


probationer;

(b) brief criminal circumstances about


his case (i.e., criminal case no., court,
branch, period of probation, initial
and last date of probation);

(c) prescribed probation treatment and


supervision program;

(d) probationer’s response to the


treatment plan/program;

101
(e) recommendation to discharge the
probationer from probation and the
restoration of all his civil rights; and

(f) such other relevant and material facts


and information which may be
required by the Trial Court.

Section 62. Final Discharge. – After


expiration of the original or extended probation
period and based on due consideration of the POs
Final Report, the Trial Court may order the final
discharge of the probationer upon finding that he
has fulfilled the probation terms and conditions;
and, thereupon, the probation supervision case is
declared terminated.

Section 63. Legal Effects of Final


Discharge: Termination Order. –

(a) The final discharge of a probationer


shall operate to restore to him all
civil rights lost or suspended as a
result of his conviction and to duly
discharge his liability for any fine
imposed as to the crime or offense
for which probation was granted
without prejudice to his civil
liability. It is hereby understood that,
the probationer’s political rights are

102
not lost or suspended even during the
probation period.

(b) The probationer and the probation


office shall be promptly furnished
with copies of such final discharge or
Termination Order.

XIII. CLOSING OF THE


PROBATION CASE

Section 64. Point in Time. – After actual


receipt of the Termination Order finally discharging
the probationer, the Probation Office shall formally
close the probation case and keep client’s case file.

Section 65. Mode. – Immediately after such


closure of the probation case, the corresponding
probation records shall be archived, but not after the
proper reporting is done.

XIV. PROBATION REPORTS

Section 66. Monthly. – The Probation


Offices through the CPPO shall submit within the
first ten (10) days of the ensuing month to the
Administrator (Attn: Case Management and
Records Division), copy furnished the RDs
concerned, their Monthly Caseload Summary
Reports (PPA Form No. 5) and its attachments.
Section 67. Semestral. - The Probation
Offices shall also submit within the first fifteen (15)
days of the ensuing semester to the Administrator,

103
copy furnished the RDs and PPA Planning Staff
with their respective Semestral Accomplishment
Progress Reports containing among others, list and
brief description of their work accomplishments for
the quarter, their encountered problems and
suggested solutions, and other related matters.

Section 68. Annual. – The Regional Offices


through the RDs shall submit within thirty (30) days
of the ensuing years to the Administrator, copy
furnished the PPA Planning Staff, their respective
Annual Reports containing among others,
operational highlights, special programs and
projects undertaken and/or other significant
accomplishments for the year.

Thereafter, the Administration shall submit a


consolidated accomplishment report to the Secretary
of Justice on/or before the last day of February each
year as required under Executive Order No. 292
Section 37 Chapter 6, Book IV thereof.

XV. MISCELLANEOUS
PROVISIONS

Section 69. Forms. – All the probation forms


specified herein shall be understood to have been
contemporaneously prescribed by the
Administration and approved by the Secretary of
Justice, from time to time as the need arises.

Section 70. Confidentiality of Probation


Records. – The PSIR and the supervision case notes

104
of a probationer obtained under PD No. 968, as
amended, and these Rules, otherwise known as the
probation investigation and supervision records,
shall be privileged and shall not be disclosed
directly or indirectly to anyone other than the Parole
and Probation Administration, the Trial Court or
other court(s) concerned, except that the court of
origin (Trial Court) may, in its sound discretion
permit the probationer or his attorney to inspect the
aforementioned documents or parts thereof
whenever the best interact of the probationer makes
such disclosure desirable or helpful: Provided that
any government office or agency engaged in the
correction or rehabilitation of offenders or any
researchers (i.e., psychologists, sociologists,
graduate students, academicians, etc.) may, if
necessary, obtain copies of said documents from the
Trial Court of the Parole and Probation
Administration for official and/or research (graduate
or special studies) purposes and other similar
undertakings for the sake of public policy, justice
and public interest.

Section 71. Miscellaneous Powers of Chief


Probation and Parole Officers. – The CPPOs shall
have the authority within their respective territorial
jurisdiction to administer oaths and
acknowledgments and to take depositions in
connection with their duties and functions under PD
No. 968, as amended, and these Rules. They shall
also have, with respect to probationers under their
care, the powers of a police officer. As such, they
shall be considered persons in authority.

105
Section 72. Authority to Issue Rules or
Rulings and Administer Programs and Projects. –

(a) The Administrator may issue rules or


rulings to clarify, interpret or
construe the provisions of these
Rules and the Probation Law without
the need of public notice, hearing
and publication.

(b) The Administration shall:

(1) develop, formulate,


implement and administer
appropriate organizational
programs;

(2) provide educational technical,


financial and calamity
assistance to clients and
personnel.

(3) offer livelihood and


enterprise development;

(4) generate job placements and


employment opportunities;

(5) undertake surveys and


research related to program
implementation;

106
(6) assist in giving amelioration,
provident and welfare
benefits; and other social
economic development and
transformation programs,
projects and activities for
probationers, their immediate
families and other
dependents; and

(7) support associations and


communities of its clients and
whenever applicable of its
personnel.

For this purpose, there is hereby constituted


a special trust fund, known as “Special Provision
Fund” (SPF) chargeable to the General Fund annual
budgetary appropriations of the Administration. The
Administrator shall issue the necessary policies,
guidelines and standard operating procedures
(SOPs) on the development, formulation,
implementation and administration of programs,
projects and activities and on the utilization,
disbursement, operation and management of said
fund, subject to the usual government accounting
regulations and auditing procedures.

Section 73. Appropriations. – So much


budgetary amount as may be necessary shall be
included in the annual appropriations of the
National Government for the PPA in order for it to
move efficiently and effectively and successfully

107
implement the provisions of PD No. 968, as
amended, the pertinent provisions of Executive
Order No. 292 (Administrative Code of 1987) and
these Rules.

Section 74. Repealing Clauses. – Any or all


provisions of existing regulations, orders, and
issuances inconsistent with or contrary to these
Rules are hereby modified or repealed accordingly.

Section 75. Separability Clause. – If any


part, section or provision of these Rules is held
invalid or unconstitutional, the other parts, sections
or provisions not affected thereby shall continue in
operation.

Section 76. Filing. – It is hereby reported


that three (3) certified copies of these Rules shall be
filed with the UP Law Center pursuant to Section 3,
Chapter 2, Book VII, Executive Order No. 292,
otherwise known as the Administrative Code of
1987.

Section 77. Effectivity. – These Rules shall


take effect after fifteen (15) days following the
completion of the publication thereof in at least
three (3) newspapers of general circulation in the
Philippines.

Other Forms of Community-based Release

Aside from probation and parole, other


modes of non-institution based corrections are:

108
Presidential Decree 603, otherwise known as the
Child and Welfare Code; Batas Pambansa Bilang 85
for those who have already served the maximum
period of the imposable penalty in detention but
whose cases are still pending in the court; and
Republic Act 6036, otherwise known as the Law on
Release on Recognizance, which places under the
custody of prominent persons in the community for
those who cannot post bail, persons charged with
offenses involving violation of a municipal or city
ordinance and in criminal cases where the
prescribed penalty is not higher than arresto mayor
(six months) and/or a fine of two thousand pesos or
both. Republic Act 6127 fully deducts the period of
the offender’s preventive detention from the
sentence imposed by the Courts.

The Revised Penal Code under Article 96


also provides that in meritorious cases, the
commutation of the prisoner’s sentence through
Presidential Action shall be upon the
recommendation of the court, which imposed the
same. Presidential Decree Number 1508, provides
among others, that for criminal offenses impossible
with an imprisonment of thirty (30) days or less, the
parties thereto, must first try to settle the case
amicably at the barangay level, and only when no
settlement can be reached, will a complaint be
entertained by the court.

GUIDE TO EARLY RELEASE OF PRISONERS

109
RELEASE ON RECOGNIZANCE
The offender under custody can be released to a
responsible person in the community as provided
under Republic Act 6036.

Who may apply?


> Person charged with the violation of a municipal
ordinance.
> Person charged with a light felony.
> Person charged with a criminal offense, the
prescribed penalty of which is not higher than 6
months (arresto mayor) or a fine of P 2,000.00 or
both)

When to apply?
When the offender is committed to any BJMP jail.

Whereto apply?
The Presiding Judge of the court.

RELEASE ON BAIL
Bail is the security given for the release of a
person in custody of the law, furnished by him or a
bondsman, conditioned upon his appearance before
any court as required under the conditions provided
by the law on bail.

Who may apply?


A person in custody of law.

When to apply?

110
 Before or after conviction by the
Metropolitan Trail Court,
Municipal Trial Court, MTC in
cities and Municipal Circuit Trial
Court (MCTC)
 Before conviction by the
Regional Trial Court of an
offense not punishable by death,
reclusion perpetua or life
imprisonment.

Where to apply?
 The Court where case is pending.
In the absence or unavailability
of the judge, another branch of
the same court within the
province or city.
 If the accused is arrested in the
province, city or municipality
other than where the case is
pending, any Regional Trial
Court of said place. In the
absence or unavailability of the
Judge, any Metropolitan Trial
Judge or Municipal Circuit Trial
Judge therein.
 If not yet charged in court, any
Court in the province, city or
municipality where the person in
custody is held.

111
PREVENTIVE IMPRISONMENT
Batas Pambansa Bilang 85 authorizes the release of
a detained offender who has undergone preventive
imprisonment equivalent to the maximum
imposable penalty for the offense charge.

Who may apply?


 Detention prisoner who is not a
recidivist or who was previously
convicted twice or more times of
any crime.
 Detention prisoner who
surrendered voluntarily when
upon being summoned for the
execution of sentence.
When to apply?
 when the accused has undergone
preventive imprisonment for a
period equal to or more than the
possible maximum imprisonment
of the offense charged to which
he may be sentenced and his case
is not yet terminated, he shall be
released immediately without
prejudice to the continuation of
the trial or the proceeding on
appeal, if the same is under
review.
 When the maximum penalty to
which the accused may be
sentenced is destierro, he shall be
released after thirty (30) days of
preventive imprisonment.

112
Where to apply?
The Presiding Judge of the Court

CHILD AND YOUTH WELFARE CODE


(PD603) FAMILY COURTS ACT (RA8369)
The offender under custody can be released to a
responsible person in the community as provided
under Republic Act 6036.

A youthful Offender (a child, minor or youth)


including one who is emancipated in accordance
with law, at the time of the commission of the
offense shall be EXEMPT from criminal liability
and shall be committed to the care of his or her
father or mother, or nearest relative or family friend
in the discretion of the court and subject to its
supervision.

Who may apply?


 A child nine (9) years of age or
under at the time of the
commission of the offense.
 A child over nine (9) years and
under eighteen (18) years of age
at the time of the commission of
the offense, unless he acted with
discernment.

When to apply?
When the person is youthful offender at the time of
the commission of the offense.

Where to apply?

113
The Court that suspended the sentence upon
recommendation by the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD) or other agency
or agencies authorized by the Court.

EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY
(Executive clemency refers to commutation of
Sentence. Absolute Pardon and Conditional Pardon
with or without parole conditions, as may be
granted by the President of the Philippines upon the
recommendation of the Board of Pardons and
Parole)

Who may apply?

 A prisoner: not eligible for Parole


 Who has not been sentenced to
another prisoner term within one
(1) year from the date of his last
recommitment to the jail or
prison from where he escaped;
 Who has not violated any
condition of his discharge on
parole or conditional pardon;
 Who is not suffering from a
mental illness or disorders
certified by a government
psychiatrist;

When to apply?
 Commutation of sentence – once
the prisoner has served at least

114
1/3 of the minimum of his
indeterminate sentence;
 Conditional Pardon - once the
prisoner has served ½ of the
minimum of his indeterminate
sentence;
 Absolute Pardon – Ten (10) years
must have elapsed from the date
of petitioner’s release from
confinement, or five (5) years
from the expiration of his
maximum sentence, whichever is
more beneficial to him.

Where to apply?
The President of the Philippines, through the
Chairman, Board of Pardons and Parole, Manila

PAROLE
Act 4103, as amended, authorizes the Board
of Pardon and parole to grant parole to a prisoner
who has served the minimum sentence of his
indeterminate prison term. (Parole is a conditional
release from prison of a prisoner who has served
part of his sentence, allowing the prisoner to
complete his term of punishment outside the prison
if he satisfactorily complies with the terms of the
Parole).

Who may apply?

 A convicted offender: not


convicted of offense punished

115
with death penalty or life
imprisonment;
 Not convicted of treason,
conspiracy or proposal to commit
treason;
 Not convicted of misprision or
treason, rebellion, sedition or
espionage;
 Not convicted of piracy;
 Not a habitual delinquent;
 Not having escaped from
confinement or evaded sentence;
 Not granted conditional pardon
by the Chief Executive and has
not violated the terms thereof;
 Whose maximum term of
imprisonment exceeds one (1)
year or those with a definite
sentence;
 Not suffering from mental
disorder;
 Whose conviction has become
final and executory;
 With no pending case/s

When to apply?
Upon proving that the prisoner, who is confined in a
jail or prison to serve an indeterminate prison
sentence, has served the minimum period of said
sentence.

Where to apply?

116
The executive director of the Chairman, Board of
Pardons and Parole, DOJ Agencies Bldg., Diliman,
Quezon City

PROBATION LAW (PD 968)

An accused, after conviction and sentence is


released subject to conditions imposed by the court
and to the supervision of a parole and Probation
Officer.
(Probation is a disposition under which the
defendant, after conviction and sentence, is released
subject to conditions imposed by the Court and to
the supervision of a Probation Officer)

Who may apply?

A convicted offender:
 Sentenced to served a maximum
term of imprisonment of not
more than sis (6) years;
 Not convicted of subversion, or
any crime against national
security or public order;
 Not previously convicted by final
judgment of an offense punished
by imprisonment of not less than
one (1) month and one (1) day
and/or fine of not less than
P200.00;
 Not having been on Probation
under the provisions of PD 968;

117
 Who is yet to serve his sentence
at the time the substantive
provisions of PD 968 became
applicable.

When to apply?
After conviction and sentence, a convicted
offender or his counsel may file a petition for
Probation.

Where to apply?
The Presiding Judge of the court.

PAROLE
Act 4103, as amended, authorizes the Board
of Pardons and Parole to grant parole to a prisoner
who has served the minimum sentence of his
indeterminate prison term (Parole is a conditional
release from prison of a prisoner who has served
part of his sentence, allowing the prisoner to
complete his term of punishment outside the prison
if he satisfactorily complies with the terms of the
parole)

Who may apply?


A convicted offender:
 not convicted of offense punished with
death penalty or life imprisonment;
 not convicted of treason, conspiracy or
proposal to commit treason;
 not convicted of misprison of treason,
rebellion, sedition or espionage;
 not convicted of piracy;

118
 not a habitual delinquent;
 not having escaped from confinement or
evaded sentence;
 granted conditional pardon by the Chief
Executive and has not violated the terms
thereof;
 whose maximum term of imprisonment
exceeds one (1) year or those with a definite
sentence;
 not suffering from mental disorder;
 whose conviction has become final and
executory;
 with no pending case/s

When to apply?
Upon proving that the prisoner, who is
confined in a jail or prison to serve an indeterminate
prison sentence, has served the minimum period of
said sentence

Where to apply?
The Executive Director of the Chairman,
Board of Pardons and Parole, DOJ Agencies Bldg.,
Diliman, Quezon City

EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY
(Executive Clemency refers to Commutation
of Sentence, Absolute Pardon and Conditional
Pardon, with or without parole conditions, as may
be granted by the President of the Philippines upon
the recommendation of the Board of Pardons and
Parole)

119
Who may apply?
A Prisoner:
 not eligible for parole;
 who has not been sentenced to another
prison term within one (1) year from the
date of his last recommitment to the jail or
prison from where he escaped;
 who has not violated any condition of his
discharge on parole or conditional pardon;
 who is not suffering from mental illness or
disorder as certified by a government
psychiatrist;

When to apply?
 Commutation of sentence – once the
prisoner has served at least 1/3 of the
minimum of his indeterminate sentence;
 Conditional pardon – once the prisoner
has served ½ of the minimum of his
indeterminate sentence;
 Absolute pardon – 10 years must have
elapsed from the date of petitioner’s
release from confinement, or 5 years
from the expiration of his maximum
sentence, whenever is more beneficial to
him.

Where to apply?
The President of the Philippines, through the
Chairman, Board of Pardons and Parole, Manila

Philippines-Japan Halfway House

120
In line with the thrust to attain an effective
and efficient implementation of rehabilitation
programs, the agencies involved in Corrections
jointly maintains with other agencies the
Philippines-Japan Halfway House in Muntinlupa.
The Asian Crime Prevention Foundation and
various Japanese NGOs donated the edifice. The
NAPOLCOM Technical Committee on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice, The Asia Crime
Prevention Philippines (ACPPI) and the Department
of Justice operate the institution.

The facility provides a select number of


released and about-to-be released prisoners with
short-term residential facilities and services for
social rehabilitation. It is manned by a Social
Services, Homelife and Administrative Support
Staff. Upon the generous sponsorship of the Asia
Crime Prevention Foundation and the Nagoya West
Lions Club, the Overseas Ohsaki Construction
Corporation also constructed the Halfway House
Workhouse. Moreover, the Nagoya West Lions
Club donated skills training equipment and tools to
include high-speed sewing machines for leather
craft making.

Several programs and services such as


casework and counseling services, productivity
training, homelife services, medical and health
services, and placement services are continuously
being provided to prepare inmates to become useful
and productive citizens in the mainstream of society
upon their release. Likewise, the Muntinlupa

121
Polytechnic College extends non-formal education
and seminar on values formation to the residents.
Said activity is duly accredited by the Department
of Education (DepEd). The Makati Golden Lions
continuously provides assistance to the released
clients with basic tools and a certain amount of
pecuniary assistance.

Annex A
CARPETA

A carpeta should contain the following:

1. Pre-Parole Report/Pre-Executive
Clemency Investigation Report
2. Prison Record
3. Fiscal’s Information
4. Court’s Decision
5. Commitment Order on Final Sentence
6. Certificate of Detention
7. Certificate of No Appeal, or if appealed,
the decision of the Appellate Court
8. If a National Prisoner, a Certification
from the Warden stating the reason(s) for
prisoner’s continued confinement in that
jail

122
9. Agreement/Manifestation under R.A.
6127
10. In Estafa, Swindling and Illegal
Recruitment cases, a certification that
prisoner has no pending case
SAMPLE OF FORMS TO BE ACCOMPLISH BY THE JAIL OFFICERS
AND INMATES

Republic of the Philippines


Department of Justice
PAROLE AND PROBATION ADMINISTRATION
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_____________

PRE-PAROLE/EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY INVESTIGATION


REPORT

I. PERSONAL DATA

Prisoner:______________________________ Prison No. _______

(Last Name) (First Name) (Middle Name)


Alias(es) _______________________ Age: ___ Sex: ___ Civil Status: ____
Date of Birth: ___________ Place of Birth: __________________________
Citizenship: __________Religion: ___________ Indent Marks: __________
Residence prior to NBP Imprisonment: _____________________________
Where to reside after release: _____________________________________
With whom: ___________________ Name: _________________________
Relationship: ______________________Occupation: __________________
Father’s full name: ____________________Occupation: ________________
Address of Father:______________________________________________
Mother’s full name:___________________ Occupation: _______________
Address of Mother: _____________________________________________
If married, name of spouse: _______________ Occupation: _____________
Status of Marriage: Married ( ) Separated ( ) Live-in/Common-Law ( )
Address of Spouse: ________________ Occupation: __________________

Children:
NAME AGE OCCUPATION

123
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Socio-Economic Background:
Family Relationship Major Family Problems
( ) Very Satisfactory ( ) No Apparent Problem
( ) Satisfactory ( ) Economic
( ) Fair ( ) Mental/Physical Illness
( ) Poor ( ) Marital Problem
( ) One-Parent Family
Major Family Problems Family Reputation in the Community
( ) Parent-Child Conflict ( ) Very Satisfactory
( ) Siblings Conflict ( ) Satisfactory
( ) Others ( ) Fair
( ) Poor
Family Economic Status Physical Home Condition
( ) More than Adequate ( ) Very Satisfactory
( ) Adequate ( ) Satisfactory
( ) Inadequate ( ) Fair
( ) Below Poverty Level ( ) Poor
Stability of Residence
( ) Stable
( ) Occasional Change
( ) Frequent Change
( ) No Stability
Occupation Prior to Imprisonment:_________________________________
Work While in Prison if any: _____________________________________
Other Employable Skills: ________________________________________
Highest Educational Attainment: __________________________________
Other Training/s Completed: _____________________________________
State of Physical Health but Mental Health shall be determined by Physician/
Psychologist of the Bureau of Corrections: __________________________
_____________________________________________________________

II. PRISONER’S CRIMINAL HISTORY

A. PRESENT CRIME IN IMPRISONMENT


Charged with:______________________________Date: _______________
Convicted of: ______________________________Date: _______________
Sentence: _____________________________________________________
Judge:_____________________________Court:______________________
Defense Counsel:___________________Address:_____________________
Offended Party:_____________________Address:____________________

124
Extent of Participation: ( ) Principal ( ) Accomplish ( ) Accessory
Co-Defendants (Names, Disposition, Custody Status): _________________
_____________________________________________________________
Appellate Court _________________________ G. R. No. ______________
Expiration of Sentence with GCTA: MIN.______________________

MAX. ________________________Pre-Conviction Detention: Inclusive


Date:________________________Total Period:_______________________
Time Served: _________________________________________________
Manner of Commission (Narrative): _______________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

B. PRISONER’S VERSION OF THE CASE:

C. OTHER CRIMINAL RECORDS

Agency CC No./Date Offence Disposition/Date


NBI __________ ____________________ _____________
RTC __________ ____________________ _____________
MTC __________ ____________________ _____________
PNP __________ ____________________ _____________
Prosecutor __________ ____________________ _____________
Barrangay __________ ____________________ _____________
CMRD __________ ____________________ _____________
BPP’s Previous __________ ____________________ _____________
Action

D. OTHER DEROGATORY INFORMATION


(from fellow inmates)

Source/Position
Particulars
________________________________
____________________________
________________________________
____________________________

III. INVESTIGATING OFFICER’S COMMENT AND


RECOMMENDATIONS

______________________Philippines,
________________________, 2000

Submitted by:

125
________
_____________________
N
ame and Signature

________
_____________________
Positi
on and Designation

REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY:


______________________________
Name and Signature

______________________________
Position

Republic of the Philippines


National Crime Information System
Bureau of Corrections
Muntinlupa. Metro Manila

1. Name: Prison No.


Alias:
2. Residence:
Civil Status:
3. Birthday: Birthplace: Age:
4. Occupation:
Religion:
Educational Attainment:
5. OFFENCES:
HOMICIDE
Min Max

Total ind:
Criminal Case(s)/ No(s)
6. Court(s): RTC,
7. Appealed to the Court of
Appeals/Judgement
8. Commencing:
9. Date Received:

126
10. Credit for Preventive Imprisonment
under RA 6127: 5 yr(s) 3 month(s) 6 day(s)
11. Expiration of Sentence(s) with GCTA:
(Act. No. 3816 and Special Credit under
Act No. 2409): Min: Max
12. Time Served with GCTA: 5 yr(s)
8 month(s) 3 day(s)
13. Time to be Served with GCTA:
Min: SERVED
Max 0yr(s) 3month(s) 12day(s)
Time to be Served without GCTA:
Min: SERVED Max
0yr(s) 3month(s) 28day(s)
14. Number of Previous Convictions: 0
For what crime(s):
15. Loss of GCTA: __________General
Conduct: _________ Where
Confined:NBP
16. PENDING CASES:
Case No. Cases Court
17. Co-accused (Name(s) & Prison No(s).:
18. REMARKS AND
RECOMMENDATION
____________________________________
____________________________________
Checked by: _________________ FILE NO
Date: _________________

Prepared By:
____________________ _________________
Chief, Computer Section Chief, Documents Section

Republic of the Philippines


Department of Interior and Local Government
BUREAU OF JAIL MANAGEMENT AND PENOLOGY

127
___________________________

Date
NAME:_____________________Where Confined:___________
Prison No. _________
Residence: ____________________________________________
Civil Status:_______Birth Date: _______________ Birth Place:
____________________________________
Occupation: _______________ Age: ____ Religion: ___________
Edn. Att. _________
CRIME/S:
______________________________________________________
Crim.Case/sNo/s._______________________________________
Sentence/s MIN:_______________ MAX:___________________
MIN:_______________MAX:____________________
MIN:_______________ MAX:___________________
Court/s:_______________________________________________
Appealed to the Courts of Appeals: ____________________
Judgement:_____________Commencing:____________________
Date received: _________________
Credit for preventing imprisonment under RA 6127
_____________________________
Expiration of sentence/s with OCTA (ActNo. 3815 a Special Credit
Under Act No.
2409): Min:___________ Max: ____________________________
Min:___________ Max: ____________________________
Time served with OCTA : _________ years _______ months
__________ days
No. of prev. conviction__ For what crime/s:
____________________________________
Gen. Conduct: ____________________________________
Pending case/s (Crime. Case/s No./s &
Court/s):_________________________________

128
Co-accused (Name and Prison No.):
________________________________________
REMARKS & RECOMMENDATION: ____________________
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
___________
JailWarden

Judicial form No. 49


REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

PEOPLEOF THE PHILIPPINES, CRIMINAL CASE NO. ___


Plaintiff, CRIME: _______________
-versus -
___________________________
___________________________
Accused.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _/

TO THE DIRECTOR OF PRISON:


I hereby commit to you the body of

The time of imprisonment will commence to run


from the day of ____________ month of
____________________ 20 ____.

JUDGE

Republic of the Philippines


OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF PRISONS

129
CRIME. CASE NO. ____________CRIME: __________
CRIME:__________________________

There has been received in this prison the body of


______________________ who has been sentenced by the
________________________________________________
________________ to suffer the penalty of
________________________________________________
__________.

The time of imprisonment will commence to run


from the day of ______ month of
_____________________, 20_____.

___________________

Director of Prisons

(This slip to be signed by the Director of Prisons


and returned to the Clerk of Court)

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES


MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURT
BRANCH _________, CEBU CITY

THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, CRIM. CASE NO. ___


Plaintiff,
- Versus -
Juan De la Cruz,
Accused.
-------------------------- /

INFORMATION
The undersigned Persecutor II, of the City of ________
accused Juan De La Cruz, for the crimes of _______________,
commuted as follows:

That sometime on the ___ day of _____________, at about


_______ p.m. in the city of _________, Philippines, and within the
jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the said accused, conniving and
confederating together and mutually helping one another with a

130
certain _______ who is presently large and will be prosecuted
separately as soon as arrested, with deliberate intent, with intent of
gain and without the knowledge and consent of the owner thereof, did
than and there take, steal and carry away scrap iron plates all worth
P___________, belonging to _________________the damage and to
prejudice of the latter in the amount aforestated.

CONTRARY TO LAW.
City of __________ Date:___________________

BAIL RECONDED: _________________

prosec
utor

Prosecutor
APPROVED:
_______________________________
City Prosecutor
Witnesses:_________________Address:_______________________
Address of the Accused: __________________________________

CERTIFICATION

I hereby certify that I have examined the complainant and


his witnesses in accordance with Sec. 7, Rule 112, Rules of Court,
that on the basis of the evidence submitted, undersigned believes that
the crime of _______has been committed and that the accused are
probably guilty thereof.

_____ City, Date:___________________


_______________________
Prosecutor

131
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURT IN CITIES
BRANCH 3, CEBU CITY

THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES,


Plaintiff, CRIM. CASE NO. 32366-R
- versus -
FOR: THEFT
ALBERTO MEDELLO
Accused.
x---------------------- /

SENTENCE

Upon arraignment accused duly assisted by counsel


de oficio, ___________________entered a plea of guilty.
Accused through counsel invoked the mitigating circumstance
of voluntary plea of guilty to which no objection is interposed
by the Asst. City Prosecutor. There being no aggravating
circumstances to offset the mitigating circumstances invoked
therein, accused under the law is entitled to a degree lower
than that provided by law.

THEREFORE, the Court finds accused guilty beyond


reasonable doubt of the crime of THEFT as defined by the
Revised Penal Code and in vice of the mitigating
circumstances invoked therein, accused is hereby sentenced to
suffer an indeterminate penalty of Two (2) months and five (5)
days of arresto mayor as minimum to one (1) year and eight
(8) months of prison correctional as maximum.

The article subjects of the offense being recovered by


authorities are hereby ordered returned to the lawful owner.

SO ORDERED.

Cebu City, Philippines, Nov. 16, 1992.

132
_______________
____
Judge

LETTER HEAD

CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that Crime. Case No/s.


______________________________ for _________
_____________________entitled
___________________________ was decided by this
court on ______________________; and that the
defendant did not file an appeal/filed an appeal but on
____________________ the appeal was
dismissed/withdrawn/decided with finality.

____
___________________________
Clerk of court

133
Republic of the Philippines
Province of Cebu
Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center
OFFICE OF THE PROVINCIAL WARDEN
Cebu City

CERTIFICATE OF DETENTION

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

This is to certify that as per records available


in this office, inmate ____________has been detained in this
Center since December 17, 2000 to present and convicted in
Crim. Case no_________for Viol, of Sec. 16, Art. III, R.A.
6425 as Amended before RTC, 7th Judicial Region, Br. 20,
Cebu, City.
This certification is issued upon request of
the above-named inmate for his application of parole.
Cebu City, Philippines, 01 November 2000.

________________________
Acting Provincial Warden

Republic of the Philippines


Department of the Interior and Local Government
Bureau of Jail Management and Penology Region 7
BAGONG BUHAY REHABILITATION CENTER
Lahug, Cebu City

DETAINEE’S MANIFESTATION
For Republic Act no. 6127

I, _____________________, _____ years old


respectfully makes the following manifestations:

134
1. That I am a detention prisoner of Bagong
Buhay Rehabilitation Center, charged for ______________
docketed an Criminal Case No. _______ before Branch
______, _______________, Cebu City.
2. That I am not a recidivist nor has been
convicted twice or more times of any crime.
3. That I have been fully appraised of the
conditions, regulations and disciplinary rules imposed upon
convicted prisoners.
4. That I voluntarily agree to abide by said
disciplinary rules imposed upon convicted persons so that I
may be given full credit of my preventive imprisonment
under the provisions of R.A. 6127.
In witness whereof, I hereunto sign this
instrument this ____ day of _________ 2002 at Bagong
Buhay Rehabilitation Center, Lahug, Cebu City.

________________________
Signature of Detention Prisoner

CERTIFICATION

THIS CERTIFIES that the above-named


detention prisoner has manifested his/her CONFORMITY
to abide by the provisions of R.A. 6127, as evidence by
his /her signature above

_________________________
Jail Warden

135
SUGGESTED SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS:

Department of Justice Undersecretary


Ramon J. Liwag. Controlling Crimes of Major
Concern: Problems and Countermeasures,
Correction Pillar. Undated.

Julio M. Alcantara. Notes on Penology.


Second Edition, 1978. Manila.

Richard L. Phillips and Charles R.


McConnell. The Effective Corrections Manager.
Aspen Publishers, Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland,
1996.

Rules and Regulations of the Board of


Pardons and Parole issued December 20, 1989.

Artemio G. Tuquero, Secretary, DOJ Bureau


of Corrections Operating Manual, 30 March 2001.

Jackie Crawford and Howard Skolnik. The


Benefits of Community Involvement With
Correctional Industries in Nevada. Corrections
Today Magazine (ISSN 0190-2563, USPS 019-640)
Published by the American Correctional
Association., 4380 Forbes Blvd., Lanham, MD
20706-4322, April 2002.

136
Gerry D. Billy. Local Corrections And
Communities: Working Together. Corrections
Today (ISSN 0190-2563, USPS 019-640)
Published by the American Correctional
Association Inc., 4380 Forbes Blvd., Lanham, MD,
October 2000.

Technical Committee on Crime Prevention


and Criminal Justice, Crime Prevention and
Coordination Service, National Police Commission.
National Crime Prevention Plan 2001.

Jovencito R. Zuno. Community Involvement


in the Prosecution of Crimes. undated

Bureau of Jail Management and Penology


Manual Approved October 24, 1994 by then DILG
Secretary Rafael M. Alunan III.

Ron Angelone. Bridging the Corrections-


Media Gap. Corrections Today (ISSN 0190-2563,
USPS 019-640) Published by the American
Correctional Association., 4380 Forbes Blvd.,
Lanham, MD 20706-4322, June 2001.

Celia C. Yangco. Philippine Community-


Based Treatment of Offenders: Old Concepts, New
Approaches, Best Practices. Criminal Justice
Journal, National Police Commission, Vol. XVI
1998.

Senior Superintendent Mercedes A.


Foronda. The Problem of Congestion. Paper

137
delivered at the Corrections Summit on 22 October
2002 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Pasay City in
celebration of 7th National Correctional
Consciousness Week.

Department of Justice, Board of Pardons and


Parole. Rules and Regulations of the Board of
Pardons and Parole. Manila, Philippines, February
1990.

Toch, H. Perspectives on the Offender.


Psychology of Crime and Criminal Justice, Hans
Toch, editor, copyright 1979 by Holt, Rinehart and
Winston.

Ronald T. Gollayan. Primer on Jail


Administration & Other Related Concerns.
Millenium Edition, 2000.

Bureau of Child and Youth Welfare,


Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Helping the Delinquent Youth and Youth Offender.
Undated.

Amnesty International. List of Abolitionist


and Retentionist Countries, September 1999.

Amnesty International. Death Sentences and


Executions in 1998.

Amnesty International. Juveniles and the


Death Penalty: Executions Worldwide since 1990.

138
Sponsorship Speech of Party List
Representative Loretta Ann P. Rosales on House
Bill 5114 which seeks the Abolition of the Death
Penalty, August 28, 2002 at the House of
Representatives.

Free Legal Assistance Group. Report on the


Implementation of Capital Punishment in the
Philippines in the Year 2001.

Free Legal Assistance Group. Flag Anti-


Death Penalty Campaign, 2002.

Foronda, Mercedes A. Philippine Country


Report on Juvenile-Related Crimes. undated.

Manuel G. Co. Parole History, Legal


Foundation and Structure. Undated.

Lecture paper “The Corrections Pillar and


Jail Decongestion” delivered by P/Brig. Gen
Aquilino G. Jacob, Jr. during a Seminar/Workshop
on Enhancing Correctional Officers’ Capability,
from Jail Management to Parole/Probation
Procedures and Supervision sponsored by the
NAPOLCOM Technical Committee on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice held April 22-23,
1999 at Cresta del Mar, Bauang, La Union.
Parole and Probation Administration
Memorandum Order No. 15 series of 99 dated
August 11, 1999 entitled PPA Omnibus Rules of
Probation Methods and Procedures.

139
Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. The Unlucky 21: Time to
Review the Death Penalty. Criminal Justice
Journal, Vol. XVI 1998, p. 3-17.
CHAPTER II
COMMUNITY-BASED CORRECTIONS

ENHANCING THE ROLE OF THE


COMMUNITY IN CORRECTIONS

1. What do our laws say?

The Philippine Constitution mandates that:

1. the “prime duty of government is to serve and


protect the people” (Section 4, Article II); and

2. “the maintenance of peace and order, the


protection of life, liberty and property, and the
promotion of the general welfare are essential for
the enjoyment by all the people of the blessings of
democracy” (Section 5, Article II).

In the pursuit of these two mandates, the


Constitution also explicitly states that: “the State
shall encourage non-governmental, community-
based, or sectoral organizations to promote the
welfare of the nation” (Section 23, Article II).

From these constitutional readings, it is very


clear that the community pillar of the criminal
justice system has been a constitutionally ingrained
all-important role in the administration of justice.
That in the exercise of this role, the community-

140
based Non-Governmental Organizations and
People’s Organizations are the communities
organized, are to play a crucial role in the service
and protection of the people. The maintenance of
peace and order, in the protection of life, liberty and
property and in the promotion of the general welfare
are essential for the enjoyment of the blessings of
democracy.

The framers of the 1987 Constitution, many


of whom are activist street parliamentarians in the
anti-dictatorship campaign to oust Marcos from the
seat of power has realized the importance of People
Power and the need to have this institutionalized as
a method of governance, as the way to prevent the
return of authoritarian regimes.

But more than this phobia which have


prompted the constitutional commissioners to give
importance to the people, is the fact that the active
and organized participation of the people in the
affairs of government whose decisions affect them.
This right is a necessary ingredient to prevent
misgovernment and ensure that the people’s
opinions are considered in decision-making. This is
the essence of democracy if we follow its accepted
definition that it is a government of the people, by
the people and for the people.

The Supreme Court has laid down the


philosophy thereof:

141
“The role of non-governmental
organizations or what we may call, in a way, the
mobilized sector of the community pillar in the
criminal justice system cannot be overemphasized
vis-à-vis their telling impact on the rest of the
criminal justice system. In the absence of a militant
public to exert pressure on prosecutors, judges and
all personnel to speedily prosecute cases”…nothing
will happen.

Our Revised Medium Term Development


Plan for 2001-2004 has singled out the organization
and empowerment of the community as the most
effective antidote to violence and crime. There can
never be a surer way to reform than that which
comes from the community itself. And there is no
power more feared by the criminal elements than an
organized, active and militant empowered
community.

2. In compliance with these laws, what is our


government doing?

The President who succeeded the late


President Marcos, Corazon C. Aquino, has made
People Power the centerpiece of her administration.
The next President who succeeded her, Fidel V.
Ramos, in turn also adopted as the call of his
administration, People Empowerment. This concept
of mobilizing empowered communities to push the
country’s development agenda including the control
of crime has been continuing to this day. It is,
however, unfortunate that after almost seventeen

142
years the blueprint has not completely been carried
out with.

On the economic front, our country


continues to be a minor contender in Asia. In the
peace and order front, we continue to be the
forerunner. We have three Muslim separatist groups
that continue to strongly challenge our government
despite massive military campaign against them; the
Moro National Liberation Front – Renegade group
under Nur Misuari, the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front and the Abu Sayyaf that continue to mock and
laugh at our military despite the training and
assistance they received from the United States
military. In all the other areas of the country, the
Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s
Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF)
continues to wage the longest running Marxist
insurgency in the world. And most alarming of all,
despite its recent split and factionalism, it was able
to consolidate its forces and now is beginning to
grow.

Not only that, we also have become the


Columbia of Asia in terms of the magnitude of the
drug problem. Drug addicts are now in every nook
and cranny of this country not sparing even the
remotest barangays.

In the pursuit of these constitutional


principles, the participants to the 3 rd National
Summit on Peace and Order held in February 1995
realized that peace and order could only be achieved

143
through the full support and active participation of
the organized people at the grassroots. And the
mechanism to achieve this is the sustainable
implementation of all Sectoral Action Plans for
Moral Recovery Programs through the activation of
the barangay concept to make it more relevant in the
conduct of national affairs.

Six years later, the Technical Committee on


Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice of the
National Police Commission continued to pursue
the same democratic, people power principles in the
prevention of criminality. This committee prepared
the National Crime Prevention Plan for 2001, which
called for the strengthening of available institutions
and mechanisms of government at the local level to
promote partnership with the community in crime
prevention and control. Such institutions and
mechanisms include among others, the Barangay
Justice System, the Peace and Order Councils, the
Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils, the Crime
Prevention Councils in schools and barangays, the
National Crime Information System and Patrol 117.

Under this National Crime Prevention Plan


2001, the Department of Justice is mandated to
continue maintaining close coordination and
partnership with the Department of Interior and
Local Government in providing training for the
skills enhancement of Barangay Chairmen and
Lupon Tagapamayapa members in their arbitration
and mediation work.

144
Through this project, Lupon members and
Barangay Chairmen will be armed with the skills
and knowledge to settle disputes, which, in turn,
will go a long way towards lessening the number of
cases entering the already overloaded prosecution,
court and corrections pillar. The bottom line of this
is a great reduction in budgetary requirements,
which the government can no longer afford to
sustain in the prosecution of cases and treatment of
inmates.

Towards this end, it would be wise if the


Barangay Chairmen and Lupong Tagapamayapa
members were also educated on the concept of
restorative justice so that in the settlement of
disputes, the element of reconciliation, elimination
of ill will and reconciliation of the litigants is not
lost. There are many cases where litigants, even
though their disputes were already settled, are not
satisfied and seek revenge eventually, which can
only mean future court cases.

The National Crime Prevention Plan 2001


also called for the promotion of honesty,
responsiveness and efficiency in the enforcement of
law and order and to foster a crime-free society. To
realize these objectives, the Plan calls for the
upgrading of the individual capabilities of the
agencies in the criminal justice system through
reform measures geared towards restoring integrity
and respect for the rule of law, and speeding up the
disposition of cases. In its implementation, the Plan
recognizes that this is not solely the function of the

145
government. The task of the government, says the
Plan, goes far beyond the mechanism of law
enforcement but involves the importance and
greater participation of the community for effective
social defense.

Community involvement is a necessary


crime prevention ingredient in the effective
treatment and rehabilitation of offenders. The active
and serious involvement of the citizens is essential
if crime is to be substantially reduced. Public
participation has to be mobilized and energized to
help the authorities in effectively addressing the law
and order concerns of the local citizenry.

This call by the National Crime Prevention


Plan 2001 is not something new, however. In fact,
this was only a re-echo of a much earlier document:
the 3rd NATIONAL SUMMIT ON PEACE AND
ORDER. HIGHLIGHTS AND OUTPUTS held on
February 16-17, 1995. This Summit came up with a
Platform of Action for Reforming and
Strengthening the Criminal Justice System, which is
a ‘declaration of commitment’ of both the public
and private sectors of society.

The plan of action has as one of its visions,


the utilization of people empowerment and political
will to create change, develop disciplined
individuals, and strategically restructure the system.
It is issue-based, development-oriented, relevant
and responsive to the present demands of the
citizenry. All these underscore the important role

146
that the community plays not only for effective
corrections but for the entire criminal justice system
as well. In fact, it is not only important, it is the only
way to effectively and cost-efficiently contain the
scourge of crime.

Through all these, it cannot be denied that


the community as one of the pillars of the criminal
justice system is supreme among them. Among the
pillars of the criminal justice system, it is the
community that has the distinction of being “primus
inter pares,” or first among equals. It is not to be
forgotten that sovereignty resides in the people, and
a democratic government is one that is a
government of the people, for the people and by the
people.

Not to be forgotten too is the fact that


criminals are bred and nurtured from the ranks of
the community. It is but incumbent, therefore, that
the community should be assigned bigger and
greater responsibility in the prevention of crime,
resolution of crime and treatment of offenders.

The law enforcement pillar is already well


underway in involving the community in the
prevention and enforcement of the law. They have
the police-community relations, the Community
Oriented Policing System or COPs, and many
others. In fact, the involvements of the community
in the barangay through the barangay tanods who
are purely civilians are already institutionalized.

147
Truly without the active involvement of the
community, the criminal justice system would
simply not work.

3. Improving offender-family relations to


improve treatment

The family is the basic unit of society.


Whatever fate befell the family also befell society.
If the family is in trouble, so too, is society in
trouble. If it is ruined, society is also ruined.

Criminological trends worldwide


unmistakably show that social services and
corrections are undergoing a paradigm shift--from
the individual offender to the family of that offender
as the focus in the treatment of offenders. The
family also suffers for the incarceration of a
member. Positively involving them in corrections
would surely increase the success of rehabilitation
and treatment. In order to succeed in enlisting the
family, however, we should not be negative-minded
invoking only the weaknesses of the family and not
its strengths. In such case, progress will not be
made, but will only become an impediment to
effective corrections work.

In 1983, the first national organization to


focus on the families of offenders was formed in the
United States with the support of the National
Institute of Corrections. This organization is called
Family and Corrections Network (FCNetwork) and
was founded by Jim Mustin, at that time a training

148
specialist at the Virginia Department of Corrections
Academy for Staff Development.

FCNetwork is a non-profit organization


serving as clearinghouses of information to inform,
support and empower offenders’ families and
maintain their ties with the incarcerated member. In
addition, FCNetwork is also into active lobbying
and advocacy work to influence public policy to
promote pro-family policies in corrections for the
benefit of the families of offenders.

FCNetwork believes that the family of the


offender is important to the offender, to the family
itself and to the community. It is, therefore,
important that the family should be strengthened to
allow the offender to participate in family life.

Mustin was moved to establish FCNetwork


when he found that information for and about
families of offenders are almost non-existent.
Mustin, who is now FCNetwork Executive Director,
believed that rates of recidivism, which is rather
very high in the United States, due to lack of
support from families, could be reduced if the
offender’s ties with family is maintained. The
inmate needs to be seen and also needs to see his
loved ones so that he will not deteriorate into a
hardened offender and recidivist who will be prone
more to spending his life in crime and incarceration
rather than striving to become a productive and law-
abiding citizen.

149
One jail facility that picked up the idea of
involving the family is the Licking County Jail in
Newark, Ohio, which is worth mentioning here.
One of its innovative treatment programs for the
facility residents is to bring in the separated
family of the inmate so they could spend time
together two times a week. In these visits, the
family creates learning and bonding opportunities
aimed to make the family intact and serve as a
useful mechanism for successful re-entry of the
offender to the community.

The American Correctional Association in


one of its Policies and Resolutions for the year 2002
is to work for public corrections policy that will
engage the family, whenever practicable, in the
development and implementation of treatment
program for their incarcerated family member. This
is a very wise move considering that no expert
sociologist or psychologist will be able to fathom
and understand the offender deeper and more
accurately than the understanding of the family he
grew up with.

4. How do we harness the community for


corrections work?

It is truly lamentable that the communities


comprising Philippine society today can no longer
be considered communities in the strictest sense of
the word. The concept of bayanihan has become a
thing of the past. Yes, we continue to cherish
bayanihan but we no longer practice it. There is so

150
much disunity, backbiting, jealousy, and pride
towards one another. Neighborhoods no longer
exist. We have become afraid to be our brother’s
keepers so that crimes continue to proliferate even
in broad daylight. Criminals know that most of the
people have become a bunch of cowards that they
ply their nefarious trade without any tinge of fear
that people who witnessed their dastardly acts will
stand as witness against them in court. And for the
few exceptions, the law even has to pass a Witness
Protection Program to protect witnesses against
criminals who have become too bold.

Disunity rather than community now


characterizes our communities more than ever.
Many factors have contributed to this, one of them
is that most of the people have become too
preoccupied with earning a living because everyday
it is becoming harder and harder to survive. They
have to devote longer hours of work. And the others
who have enough sustenance instead of devoting
some of their time and energies to strengthening the
community are too busy earning more because they
have become preoccupied with becoming rich. Yes
to be rich has become a status symbol. A source of
honor instead of shame for taking more than can be
consumed. This acquisitive in turn is being
emulated from the affluent society who is the cause
of widespread poverty and loss of our sense of
community that makes it easy for crime to thrive.

Our lack of appreciation for community is


being rationalized as our right to privacy. When we
can afford it, our houses are double padlocked, our

151
lot are fenced too high and when we can afford a
car, we have its glasses tinted so that we can be safe
from the prying (or is it frying?) eyes of others. We
call this privacy? No, it is siege mentality, which is
the aftermath of losing our sense of neighborhood or
community. It is the result of a strong sense of
insecurity and distrust, of playing safe brought by
the lack of peace and order.

This strong sense of distrust can be traced


also to the presence in our midst of law enforcers
who have become a disgrace to their uniforms.
Instead of protecting the people from criminals,
many of them have become criminals preying on the
people.

To bring back this sense of community, the


criminal justice system should be made the prime
agent to turn back the tide. First, there is a need to
refurbish the negative image of those involved with
the criminal justice system. They must show
themselves, especially the cop in the block who is at
the forefront of the community, to be truly
professionals, courteous and respectful, humble,
capable in going after criminals, honest, sincere and
ready to be of service to the downtrodden. They
must be seen and perceived by the community as
defenders of the oppressed not the protector of
oppressors and oppressors themselves. Only in this
way, will we be able to get back the confidence of
the people.

Once we have won the people’s support,


they will become receptive and supportive to

152
whatever good the criminal justice pillars will ask
them to do. Let us take this as opportunity to
organize and mobilize them for community
protection against crime and against unscrupulous
traders and businessmen who are exploiting and
impoverishing the people.

The community should carry a greater


responsibility in corrections. After all, it is from
them that criminals emerged. Some kind of a
collective responsibility to pay for a collective guilt
in somehow contributing to the emergence of the
criminal is just one of the justification for involving
the community.

Preventing crime can only be achieved when


the 5 pillars of the Criminal Justice System, each on
their own, are effective in achieving their missions.
If one fails, the entire CJS falls like a house of card
or like castles built on sand. Some kind of a
collective responsibility should be assumed for this
collective sin for having produced offenders from
among their midst. If for this alone, the community
should carry a greater responsibility in corrections.

What is most pressing is that without the active


involvement of the community, criminals can afford
to throw down all caution to the winds when they
see that the community is apathetic, unconcerned or
even afraid. What is needed is critical mass and one
of the pillars of that critical mass is the critical
thinking citizens. As the saying goes;

153
“Magtatagumpay ang iilang masasama kung ang
nakararaming mabubuti ay magsasawalang kibo.

The best approach is first to organize the


people who become critical of government
wrongdoings. If we do not do this, the community
organizations formed will only be just paper
organizations at the beck and call of those who
organized it. Criticism is the force that prevents the
evil urge of people and if we prevent this evil urge,
then, society will become better.

Since the dawn of criminological history,


most of the approaches in solving the problems
posed by violators of the social norms are focused
on isolating the offender and punishing him as a
way to exact vengeance for what he had done. This
was due to the then predominant, although today, it
is still prevailing, concept that the offender alone is
the root cause of his problem. This concept puts
responsibility squarely on the inmate. Victim
blaming, however, has shown that this did not deter
crime. Victim blaming will only cause division and
animosity in the community, which are contributory
to the rise in criminality.

Most offenders have no sense of


belongingness to their communities and do not
appreciate their value to the community. They do
not realize that crime hurts everyone including
themselves, their families and the community at
large. On the other hand, we have a community that
do not regard the offender as one of them without

154
understanding that by engaging in a life of crime,
this offender that they ostracized has also affected
the community members, their families and loved
ones and even themselves personally too. Therefore,
crime is a two way process that affects every one
and that needs to be understood by everyone before
it can be exorcised from the community. It is
important for inmates to feel that the public has not
forgotten them.

Of particular concern are the local jails. The


community should be concerned about the operation
of local jails for several reasons. First, the budget
for local jails consumes a substantial portion of the
Internal Revenue Allocation of the local
government unit. Second, the majority of jail
inmates come from the very community where the
jail is situated and it will be to these communities
that the inmate will return to upon release. This fact
forces the successful rehabilitation of the inmate not
merely as a criminal justice problem but as a
community problem requiring the community itself
to be mobilized for this purpose.

The fields of sociology and psychology are


making inroads leading to the realization that
incarceration and punishment are not producing the
intended effects. Now, there is an emerging school
furthered by advances in the fields of human and
community development that altering the behavior
of entire communities was a more effective
approach. This approach, which is gaining wider

155
acceptance from criminal justice practitioners, is
described as building healthy communities.

The task of corrections does not merely


involve correcting the offender but also involves
restoring the ties between him, community, and
rebuilding solid family ties. These tasks require not
only correcting the individual offender, which has
been the overriding focus of treatment programs for
offenders. It likewise involves changing the
community and mobilizing the community itself for
this task.

Building healthy communities is a


remarkable development process using the strategy
of structured organization in mobilizing people to
address and take care of problems affecting their
respective communities such as criminality,
rehabilitation and treatment of those violating the
accepted community rules. It invokes the Biblical
concept that “we are our brothers’ keepers.” It
promotes a strong sense of volunteerism that can
only be achieved through shared experiences,
common awareness and visions for the community.
It involves awakening, nurturing the spirit of
patriotism and love for country among the people.

A good example to cite is the experience of


the Licking County Jail in Newark, Ohio. This
facility demonstrates the wisdom of enlisting the
active partnership of the community to enhance
professionalism and improve operational efficiency.
This jail is one of 14 facilities triple-accredited by

156
the American Correctional Association in the entire
United States. While still in the planning stage for
the construction of this facility about two decades
ago, it was already considered that this jail would
operate in a manner different from the traditional
means of incarceration. To realize such, requires a
wide range of meaningful treatment programs for
the inmates, who in turn, need the active
participation of the community.

The Licking County Jail has an average


population of 150 inmates. However, its
effectiveness is drawn from almost 250 individuals
who are either volunteers working for free or
support personnel paid in full or part-time basis by
various outside agencies and organizations with
whom the jail is networking with. Inmates are
closely monitored and have appropriate programs
for their rehabilitation. They are made possible due
to the presence of these volunteers who also provide
community linkages to give them trainings while
inside. The community supports them upon release
so that the offender will be able to successfully
reintegrate himself into mainstream society.

Successfully harnessing the community


towards these efforts require building a broad
alliance or coalition linking people and
organizations within a community for the common
purpose of solving the problems of criminality.
Towards this end, experienced facilitators and
community organizers are needed to bring this
about. Without them, a coalition may only be a

157
coalition on paper or it maybe an existing coalition
that is only good at meeting and making plans but
not competent enough when it comes to
implementation.

Before a community can be mobilized to


become an active and strong pillar, there is a need
for that community to be organized first. Then have
it registered either as a People’s Organization (PO)
or as a Non-Government Organization (NGO).
Registration could either be with the Securities and
Exchange Commission for non-profit, non-stock
entities. The Bureau of Rural Workers of the
Department of Labor and Employment for rural
workers, the Cooperatives Development Authority
if the organization is a cooperative, or with the
Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board if it is an
urban poor association.

Registration gives the organization a


juridical personality to perform any legal acts or
actions. This includes official participation in
legislative hearings to discuss proposed laws.
Engage in mass actions such as rallies, marches and
demonstrations if the anti-crime campaign is not
getting any positive response from the government.

Before a community can be organized,


there is a need for its members to be given
education in order to raise their social and
political awareness. This will make them
understand and see the necessity for an active,
organized community in the fight against crime

158
and in the rehabilitation of offenders. A strong
spirit of volunteerism should surface in the
community and can only be achieved through
awareness building and conscientization process.
Part and parcel of this education process is the
realization by the community that effective
treatment and rehabilitation of offenders
ultimately benefit everyone.

Community education should employ an


aggressive pro-active strategy to create a critical
mass of public opinion necessary in the fight to
effectively eradicate crime. The more dynamic and
diversified the community education strategy, the
greater its influence on public perception. The
greater the favorable public perception, the easier to
activate volunteers who will not only mobilize in
the fight against criminals but also in the conduct of
education and conscientization. In the recruitment
of other volunteers, the organizing of community
groups and in mobilizing these groups to contain
crime, one aspect of which is the non-institution
based treatment of released offenders.

The importance of educating and building


the awareness of the public is, in fact, one of the
recommendations forwarded by the American
Correctional Association to improve corrections
work. It sees the need for justice officials and
agencies to make the public aware that it is in their
best interest to promote, support and participate in.
The funds of those programs have already been
proven effective in preventing delinquency and

159
producing healthy, positive, and socially responsible
children and adolescents.

Without public support, success is very


difficult to achieve. And without success, the
community will not be free from the depredations of
criminal elements. Therefore, it is very important
that the public be aware that effectively correcting
wayward members is to their best interests.
Corrections officers must devote a substantial
portion of their time, skills and resources in
explaining these principles to the public.

Community education enables the


corrections pillar to put its best foot forward and
shatter the negative stereotypes that had been
attached to prisons, inmates and even corrections
officers. Community education will enable the
corrections pillar and the entire criminal justice
system that are to get a favorable perception that
would surely help a lot in effectively pursuing its
goals.

Since 1979, the Illinois Correctional


Association (ICA) has been reaching out to the
public to educate them on the importance of the
correctional system to the community and the
difficult problems encountered in this kind of work.
ICA invested heavily on public relations to educate
people about corrections and change society’s
negative perceptions. The idea that a favorable
public perception will mean support for its work and

160
that this, in the long run, will spell benefits for the
public.

Community education starts with


information education campaign done initially
through film-showings in schools, in community
assemblies, and any other appropriate gatherings. It
includes the distribution of written contextual
information: annual reports, newsletters, and
supplemental information brochures, press releases
and media interviews. Correctional officers should
be readily available to provide this information
verbally to community and political organizations
during formal and informal meetings.

Writing and talking to disseminate


information about corrections are not enough. The
public must be invited to move from being an
"outsider" to being an "insider" status by entering
and experiencing the corrections environment often
dubbed as “the cemetery of the living dead.” This
transformation of status can be accomplished by
bringing the community into corrections and
corrections into the community. Only through direct
feel and actual experience of the prisons and
mingling with offenders can the negative,
stereotyped images, misconceptions and
prejudgments be effectively shattered.

Bringing the public inside prison facilities is


an interactive approach designed to specifically
target "outsiders" and accord them the opportunity
to familiarize and acquire deeper insights and

161
understanding of the situations facing correctional
officers and offenders. Of particular value are open
houses on special occasions for media practitioners,
political officials (especially those hostile toward
corrections but holding positions that are valuable to
corrections and the criminal justice system),
prosecutors and judges, local business professionals,
academic community, church leaders and special
interest groups that view themselves as correctional
watchdogs.

Legislators, media personnel, churchgoers


and educators require special attention because of
their potential to influence public perception on a
large scale and by their moral standing in the
community. In these open houses, the families of
inmates should also be available to be able to
present their sides in a programmed and structured
manner to get the maximum yields in terms of
creating a favorable public opinion that could
produce a groundswell of support.

Some effective approaches to bringing


corrections into the community require common
sense but innovative techniques. As the popular
saying goes: “If Mohammad cannot go to the
mountains then let the mountains go to
Mohammad.” Corrections officers should be
proactive and go out of their way to domesticate
unfavorable public opinion.

Through these projects, wonderful


opportunities are provided for an interactive

162
cooperation, working together of the inmates and
the community. This is very effective in fostering
familiarity, friendship, favorable public opinion for
the inmates and the corrections service. These
community activities could also be capped by
allowing the inmates to perform cultural programs
and speak to the audience to explain their situations.
To achieve maximum impact, maximized media
coverage should be worked on.

Towards this end, it is advisable for


Corrections authorities to organize and train a
Speakers' Bureau composed of minimum security
and qualified inmates able to present and explain the
sides of corrections eloquently.

This speaker’s bureau could then be made to


speak in schools among school children and the
youth. The inmate speaker would appear in class in
their inmate uniform complete with handcuffs and
then ask the children and the youth if they want to
spend their future behind bars and carry the stigma
of an ex-convict. The inmate will talk about the
circumstances that led to his incarceration. How he
was disrespectful and disobedient to his parents.
How he became truant in school. How he spent his
time with his barkadas and his allowance on
gambling, booze and drugs. How he went into
trouble with the law because he was pressured by
his gang mates to steal or kill otherwise his gang
mates will gang up on him.

163
The inmate will then proceed on to talk
about the hardships and loneliness of life behind
bars, about the high incidence of suicides in prison,
about how their lives were destroyed, how they lost
their friends, family and how they miss their
children. The inmate will talk about how society
and the economy became severely affected because
so many people have become like him. That peace
and order became a problem and made the people
impoverished because of this. This kind of talk will
surely discourage potential offenders among the
audience and contribute to the reduction of crime.

This is the way that prisons should be brought to the


consciousness of the public instead of being isolated
like the imprisoned inmates. They should become a
vehicle for educating the youth to avoid the
misfortune suffered by their less fortunate
fellowmen. In addition, they should serve to educate
the public on the causes of crime and how it affects
their way of life.

To enhance effectiveness of corrections,


members of the North Carolina Correctional
Association (NCCA) reaches out to the community
and correctional colleagues through participation in
state-run mentoring program, giving scholarship
awards to poor youths who want to acquire college
education and engaging in disaster relief operations
to victims of calamities. By giving something back
to the community where they are working, these
corrections officers are in fact creating a favorable

164
public opinion that would be valuable in the success
of their work.

5. Media plays an important role

Success or failure of corrections work will


always be measured in terms of public perception.
Success in this arena can greatly make possible the
availability of financial, material and human
resources necessary to carry on the work.
Corrections officers who neglect cultivating this
public will surely face difficulties, which eventually
will exhaust the energy and effectiveness of
corrections officers to succeed in their work. Many
corrections programs with exciting potentials to
succeed miserably failed because of the resistance
of public policy that was brought about by the
resistance of public opinion. Good public policy is
essential for the success of any program much more
so in the corrections pillar.

However, most of the time, solid public


opinion is more of liquid perceptions that were
emotionally influenced and shaped by media. This
brings us to the important role that media plays and
the fact that media must not be forgotten or set aside
in corrections work. Sensational media stories,
which are also, fueled more by subjective emotions
rather than concrete and professional analysis can
make knee-jerk recommendations to solve the
problems of criminality.

165
In the efforts to enlist the support and
participation of the community, the role of the
media is extremely important for two reasons. One
is that the media has the capacity to reach out to the
widest segment of the population. Secondly, the
media is a very strong force in the formation of
public opinion. The media presents opportunities
that can lead speedily, easily and surely to a more
positive image and increased public support.

Unfortunately, corrections authorities have


neglected or have been weak in allocating resources,
time and effort to get the media to portray a more
pleasant jails and prisons. Because of this neglect,
media has portrayed corrections in a very negative
light. This image problem of corrections became its
Achilles’ heel why it cannot get satisfactory funding
and policies to enhance the effectiveness of
corrections work.

Look at the death penalty in the Philippines.


It was initially abolished during the time of
President Corazon Aquino because of media
influence but was restored by Congress years later
because of the same media sensationalism in crime
reporting. Now, there is again a very strong clamor
to re-abolish the death penalty for having shown
that its effectiveness as a deterrent to crime is highly
questionable. Media and public opinion have one
thing in common; they are both emotionally based
and mutually fueled by each other. Considering that
public opinion is just the offspring of media, this is
no surprising at all.

166
However, it is not easy to tap the media to
become a force in corrections work. For one, there
is lot of corruption in the media. Envelopmental
journalists abound. They are known in the
profession as the ACDC mediamen. ACDC means
Attack and Collect, Defend and Collect. A journalist
attacks somebody by writing unfavorable stories on
that somebody because he was paid. The one
attacked in the press will also pay a media man to
defend him in exchange for a fee.

In addition, let us not forget that it is the


media’s sensationalism and propensity for the
negative that has put corrections in a very bad light.
Irresponsible, shady characters that tend to corrupt
the people and make them irresponsible infiltrate
the media. They glorify criminals. They engage in
pornography under the cover of press freedom. Just
look at the front pages of tabloids and magazines
that print virtually nude women. Just look at the
noontime soap operas in TV who produce shows
that leave a very bad taste in the mouth.

However, the greater danger is that millions


of young impressionable kids watch these shows.
The irresponsibility of media tends to make the
youth become more and more violent. TV has taken
more time of the child than the parents who are too
busy earning a living. If children are like that, it is
because parents have left them to day care centers,
media and the schools. They could not experience

167
love which only the parents especially, the mother
can give.

Instead of them playing their role of


countering what is morally evil, they are even the
purveyors. The media should be reined when it
comes to pornographic literatures, unverified
reporting and rumor-mongering but not their critical
thinking and exposure of anomalies and corruption
in government. Therefore, what is needed is to make
use of the media to the maximum while at the same
time exerting efforts to correct the bad influences of
media.

6. Instilling spirituality and moral recovery


program as one way of reforming the offender and
society

It is an accepted fact that society is also


responsible for the incidence of crime. When our
social values are eroded, people lose any
compunction to commit crime. To prevent crime, it
is necessary that its breeding ground, the society, be
cleansed.

At this time when Philippine society has


been so influenced by the moral depravity and
decadence of Western civilization, the only way to
counter this is through a morality renewal that will
target the entire society.

Institutionalizing and intensifying a moral


regeneration program in society that will target the

168
very young can achieve correcting society as a
means to correct criminals. The curriculum in the
schools for values education is a passive one; it is
not enough to make our people morally upright.

The government, however, is not the ideal


institution to implement this. In fact, during the
administration of President Fidel Ramos, a Moral
Recovery Program was implemented that lacked the
necessary political will. Unfortunately, however,
nothing substantial came out of this program.

The most ideal groups to tap in this effort


are those who belong to the religious sector. The
Church is the moral guardian of society. It is but
natural that the task of recovering the morality of
our people should be initiated by the Church. And
the church will be forced to take this obligation if
offered by the government due to a passage in the
Bible that says whatever you did to the least of our
brethrens, the prisoners being one of those specified
in the Bible, you did it for God.

The Church and its teachings are also


valuable at the micro level. When all else fail in the
work of rehabilitating the offender, the last weapon
is to instill the fear of God. Enhancing the
spirituality of the inmate is a most potent weapon in
corrections. Religious teachings focus on the basic
theme of belief and reliance on an all-powerful but
all-merciful God, as opposed to belief in oneself.
This focus leads to positive life-changing values,
attitudes and behaviors. Belief in God makes one to

169
follow the rules even with nobody looking.
However, if a person does not believe in God, even
if many guards are assigned to watch that person, he
will commit crime at the slightest moment he sees
the chance.

In Vancouver, Canada, the Correctional


Service Canada (CSC) launched a project called
Community Adult Mentoring System (CAMS). The
project assigns a suitably screened and trained
volunteer who act as mentor to a newly released
offender. These mentors mostly came from Church
people and they complement the parole officer who
still exercises overall supervision and monitoring of
release conditions. Months before release, an inmate
will already be assigned a mentor who will work
with the soon to be released inmate in making
realistic plans for his reintegration to mainstream
society.

And once outside, the mentor will ensure the


provision of the necessary community support
starting with church members. The mentor act as a
support network to advice and assist the newly
released offender in various ways such as finding
employment, getting adequate housing, applying for
driver’s licenses, social security registrations or
backfilling of income taxes.
This mentoring program is a way for the
community to help offenders get back on their feet
while at the same time helping the community to
heal itself too since the program adheres to
principles of Restorative Justice. And most of the

170
volunteer mentors come from religious groups and
they are supported by law enforcement and
corrections agencies.

8. The schools should complement the


Church

Another social institution that should be


tapped in the rehabilitation of offenders and also the
rehabilitation of society are the schools.

The Schools shall not only teach the youth


subjects that will enable them to acquire skills such
as reading, writing, science, technology and math
subjects. It is also important that students be taught
values of makatao, makabayan, makakalikasan and
maka-Diyos. These teachings will go a long way
towards making a man law-abiding.

One good example of such a program is the


Teens, Crime and the Community (TCC) introduced
in the United States in 1985 by the National Crime
Prevention Council and Street Law Inc. Through a
combination of education and community action,
TCC has reached out to more than 1,000 schools,
communities and juvenile justice facilities
nationwide since its creation. TCC makes the youth
understand the effect of crime on the community
and how to prevent it. TCC uses positive
reinforcement that avoids labeling the youths as
“delinquents” or “deviants,” and instead focuses on
making the youths aware of the impact of crime on
their schools or neighborhood then challenging

171
them to come up with action project to deal with the
problem.

A core element of TCC Program is its


community linkage. Wide-ranging types of resource
persons which include police officers, conflict
mediators, prosecutors, judges, corrections officers,
victim assistance counselors, media men and
businessmen help the youths establish linkages with
various agencies and leaders who would be of help
in making the youths realize the plan they came up
with. Even churches, schools, youth clubs, jail
facilities and community centers have sponsored
many projects proposed by the youths to solve
crime problems in their respective communities.

Inviting an inmate to talk about his


experiences like; how his children are the object of
ridicule from their classmates and barrio mates, how
his future and the future of his family was destroyed
because of his imprisonment.

This will go a long way towards


discouraging the youths from engaging in acts and
activities that are against the law like being involved
in drugs and many others.

9. The business community should also be


tapped to provide livelihood in and
outside prisons

The business community is a highly valuable


partner in the rehabilitation and treatment of

172
convicted offenders. It has everything needed for an
effective corrections work: funds, human resources,
skills, product, employment, etc. Moreover, it will
be valuable in training inmates and giving them life
skill experiences that will surely prove valuable in
their effort to successfully reenter society upon
release.

In the United States, Congress established


the Prison Industry Enhancement Certified
Programs (PIECP) in 1979 to encourage state and
local governments to create inmate employment
opportunities and to establish commerce within the
prison environment. This program allows prison
industries to market to interstate and intrastate
consumers. This program enabled business to
become active in corrections work.

Just one of those businesses that participate


in the PIECP is the Corrections Corporation of
America (CCA), which initiated the computer repair
and upgrading program at the South Central
Correctional Center in 1995. Since the program
started, 8,000 computers worth $800,000 have been
repaired and turned over to various public schools in
Tennessee for the use of students. Today, 300
computers are being repaired and/or upgraded every
month.

The project involved CCA, the Tennessee


Education Department and South Central
Correctional Facility. It started when the Education
Department started a computer course pilot project

173
for inmates at the said facility. The computers are
discarded by various state agencies, which are
turned over to the Surplus Property Division of
Tennessee. The Surplus Property Division in turn
forwards these to the South Central where inmates
trained by the Education Department clean, repair
and upgrade these computers.

The student gets to use a computer, the CCA


earns, and the state saves. Inmates benefit the most
because the project gave them the opportunity to be
busy, earn wages and learn a marketable skill upon
release. The program enables inmates to pay taxes
and court-mandated penalties, support their families
and save something for their use upon release. In
addition, the project creates a positive image for the
inmates from the schoolchildren and the
community, which will translate into a more
favorable condition for corrections.

The scheme fit the overall corporate strategy


of CCA to arm inmates with skills that they need in
order to successfully reenter mainstream society.

Unfortunately, the participation of the


business sector in the treatment and preparation of
inmates for eventual release to society is not that
advance in the Philippines as those in the United
States. The main reason for this is that corporations
are very interested to participate in corrections work
in the US because there is full employment there
and that inmates are a source of cheap and strike
free workers. In case of sickness, disability, or

174
death, the employers are not responsible because it
is the prisons that take care of these matters.

In the Philippines, this is not the case.


Employing inmates would not be advisable because
this will deny employment to others who are on the
outside who are jobless. If inmates will be
employed while those outsiders who are law-
abiding are not will surely give rise to problems.
One of the potential problems is that those
unemployed in the outside society may resort to
crime so that when they are imprisoned, they will be
given employment. This is not far-fetched,
considering that many released offenders willfully
commit another crime upon release so that they will
again be returned to prison where they do not have
to worry about where to spend the night and where
to get the next meal.

However, this should not be a pretext for


corporate people to shriek from their responsibilities
as members also of the community. Other
innovative ways needs to be done in the Philippine
corrections system without having to copy practices
in other countries whose circumstances are vastly
different from the circumstances obtaining in our
country. For one, businessmen may use their
expertise to train inmates on various livelihood
projects then help these inmates start livelihood
project while inside the facility and then extend
further help in the marketing of inmates’ products.
Upon release, the corporate people will still provide
support for a certain period until such time that the

175
released offender has successfully transferred his
prison livelihood project in the free society.

10. More recommendations for a more


effective community pillar in corrections work

In the light of the implementation of the


General Agreement on Tariff and Trade worldwide,
privatization will now become the rule of the day.
Government will be barred from providing services
to the people because this should only be done by
private business. Along this line, government owned
or controlled corporations like PETRON, PAL,
PNB, MWSS and many others have already been
privatized. So are many government hospitals.
Soon, state colleges and universities will follow
suit.

Then after that, the National Housing


Authority, the National Food Authority, the
National Power Corporation will also follow. The
National Printing Office and 13 other government
agencies have already been abolished, outwardly
because of purported lack of funds but in truth, it is
more in keeping with globalization and its
concomitant privatization. Soon the Department of
Social Welfare and many others will be abolished
too. Eventually, even the prisons will not be spared
this privatization fever.

Towards this end, the government should


strive to be one-step ahead so that it will not be
constrained by sudden changes when the time

176
comes. So that instead of the businessmen
swallowing all these government agencies, they
should be given to NGOs. As a first step, the
following should be adopted so that the government
will not be caught with its pants down:

a. Overall, corrections should be


community-based with Non-
Governmental Organizations, People
Organizations, the Local Government
Units, the Church, the Schools, business
and civil society playing an active and
decisive role;

b. A citizen’s movement for the criminal


justice system should be formed in
tandem with the 5 pillars doing all they
can to strengthen this movement as the
backbone of a pro-active, preventive,
rehabilitative and restorative
community-based corrections. In this
way, corrections will be expanding
beyond its mandate of correcting the
wayward members of society but
correcting a wayward society itself so
that very exceptionally few wayward
members will arise;

c. Probation should be handled by NGOs


who should conduct
regular house calls, meeting the
probationers' families, friends,

177
neighbors and the community at
large.

d. Convicts that are not hardened and with


a lot of promise in being rehabilitated
will render community service instead of
going to prison. This will be under the
supervision of NGOs not government
who may not become effective because
of bureaucracy or pressure from
politicians or the top;

e. Post-release programming is the role to


be played by the 5th pillar of the
criminal justice system, the community.
This can be done through an NGO;

f. Increased community participation


through the NGOs. Channel the budget
to NGOs who will be the one to
undertake rehabilitation, and make the
convict earn to pay for his upkeep and
paying his victims, the cost of litigation,
etc. This is in keeping with the
privatization thrust under globalization
that we cannot avoid anymore;

g. To avoid the pitfalls of law enforcers


becoming law breakers, of prosecutors
who are no different from those they
prosecute, of judges no different from
those they are judging to be imprisoned,
of correctors becoming no different from

178
the convicts they are supposed to be
correcting, the Ombudsman and the
Commission on Audit should also be
tightly guarded. The best agency to do
this is the CELDA which was one of the
recommendations in the earlier chapters;

h. The community component of the


CELDA should come from the highly
critical and militant sectors of the civil
society to ensure that the government
members of CELDA will behave
properly. The critical and militant civil
society will likewise be forced to be
more militant and critical inside the
CELDA otherwise they will lose their
credibility. This civil society component
of the CELDA will serve as the check
and balance;

i. A Bureau of Community Involvement


(BCI) should also be established which
will take charge of enlisting the active
involvement and participation of various
civil society groups and the community
itself in the criminal justice system from
law enforcement, to the prosecution, to
the courts, to the corrections, to the
legislative lobbying. The civil society
groups will also spearhead the media
advocacy, the schools, the community,
the Church. BCI will tap all NGOs, POs,

179
civic organizations, church, schools,
business organizations, etc;

j. Formation of Community Crime


Prevention Councils whose membership
may compose of LGU, the church, the
academe, civic organizations like the
Rotary, NGOs, POs especially critical
and very vocal cause-oriented groups. Its
aim is to pinpoint problem areas in the
community like drugs, gambling,
drunkenness, and youths in conflict with
the law, graft and corruption in
government. Bringing these to the
attention of law enforcement and other
concerned agencies; lobby and pressure
law enforcement agencies to solve thee
problems brought to their attention;
bring to the attention of higher ups and
work for the relief of law enforcement
officers not up to par in their
performance; maintain halfway houses
and support mechanism for newly
released prisoners; conduct information
and education program on crime
prevention in the community; etc.

The council will also alert the


families of violators, particularly
youth offenders and confer with
them on how best the council and
their family can solve the problem.
To conduct information education

180
campaign on the community to raise
the awareness of the community on
the ill effects of crime on the
economy and moral fiber. How it
stunts economic development that
will make life harder to bear and that
economic progress can only be
attained in a crime-free atmosphere;

k. A community linkage and network


development office should be created in
every jail and prison facilities
nationwide. This office will take charge
of developing the linkages and network
in the community that will be the source
of groundswell of support for the jails
and prisons. Since support can be most
effectively produced through a two-way
approach, the detainees and inmates
considered as medium security should be
utilized to participate in community
projects initiated by the church, the
schools, the NGOs, the civil as well as
the civic society like the Rotary, the
Jaycees, etc. and any other groups.

This way the jails will be able to


shed its negative image in the
community and replace it with a very
positive image, which is one of the
factors for producing support from
the community. The projects ideal
for the deployment of minimum

181
security detainees and inmates are
cleanliness campaign, tree-planting
or reforestation campaign, repairing
school buildings whether public or
private in coordination with the
DECS, market buildings in
coordination with the LGUs, doing
road repairing work in coordination
with the DPWH in exchange for
some subsidies to the prison or jail
maintenance, harnessing some
detainees for speaking in schools or
communities with the end in view of
“terrorizing” the people to become
afraid of committing crimes;

The Community Linkage and


Network Development Office shall
have as part of its responsibilities the
formation of community
organizations within the sphere of
influence of the jails, the networking
with various religious, academic,
civil and civic society groups. Lobby
advocacy work will also be tasked to
this office to ensure that the
Sangguniang Bayans and
Sangguniang Panglunsods within the
jurisdiction of the jail will allocate
funds to support the operation of the
jails. This is what some government
hospitals and public schools are
doing to augment their budgets. In

182
fact, in some areas even private
hospitals and schools are receiving
support from the LGUs;

This Community Linkage and


Network Development Office would
be similar to the Community
Assistance and Development work of
the Law enforcement pillar of the
CJS, which was one of the workshop
outputs of the Strategic Planning for
the Philippine Criminal Justice
System and Peace and Order held on
August 31, 2001 at the NAPOLCOM
Multi-Purpose Hall. This is one of
the Vision of the Law Enforcement
Pillar. Another such Vision is
community organization and
mobilization. These said Visions of
the Law Enforcement Pillar could be
adopted also for corrections.

l. Towards this end, there is a need for the


formation of Criminal Justice Groups
(CJGs) in every barangay. There are
organizations existing in many
communities like anti-crime groups, or
anti-drug watch or any other groups that
cater only to one pillar of the criminal
justice system piecemeal. What is
needed is a comprehensive grouping that
will take on the whole gamut of the
crime problem.

183
The idea for this concept is taken
from the Public Safety Coordination
Councils in the state of Florida. All
the 67 counties of Florida have
organized this council in compliance
with the Community Corrections
Partnership Act of 1991, which was
passed by the Florida State
Legislature to ensure the active
participation of the community in the
treatment and rehabilitation of
offenders.

The CJGs will:

1. impose sanctions against officials


of barangays that are crime-
laden;

2. involve NGOs in organizing and


mobilizing CJGs; and

3. conduct dialogue with known


drug users and pushers, gambling
collectors and gamblers, thieves,
prostitutes, drunkards, and all
other anti-social elements. They
will have to be explained,
cajoled, threatened and
intimidated if need be to stop
their nefarious activities.

184
The group should have a cadre who will be a
policeman assigned in the community. Policemen
should not only be assigned at the town centers but
every barangays should have one to supervise the
barangay police force and the CJGs. The residents,
the CJGs, the Barangay Council for his
performance, will periodically evaluate the
policeman assigned in the barangay and low rating
will mean administrative sanction against the
policeman for inefficiency in controlling crime.

DEFINITION OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

 Restorative Justice is a new movement in


the fields of victimology and criminology.
Acknowledging that crime causes injury to
people and communities, it insists that
justice repair those injuries and that the
parties be permitted to participate in that
process.
 Restorative Justice programs,
therefore, enable the victim,
the offender and affected
members of the community
to be directly involved in
responding to the crime.
They become central to the
criminal justice process, with
State and legal professionals
becoming facilitators of a
system that aims at offender
accountability, reparation to

185
the victim and full
participation by the victim,
offender and community.
 The restorative process of
involving all parties is
fundamental to achieving the
restorative outcome of
reparation and peace.
 Restorative Justice is different from
contemporary criminal justice in several
ways.
 First, it views criminal acts
more comprehensively –
rather than defining crime as
simply lawbreaking, it
recognizes that offenders
harm victims, communities
and even themselves.
 Second, it involves more
parties in responding to
crime- rather than giving key
roles only to government and
the offender, it includes
victims and communities as
well.
 Finally, it measures success
differently- rather than
measuring how much
punishment is inflicted, it
measures how much harm
are repaired or prevented.

FOUNDATIONS OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

186
Three Principles Form the foundation for RJ

 Justice requires that we work to restore those


who have been injured.
 Those most directly involved and affected
by crime should have the opportunity to
participate fully in the response if they wish.
 Government’s role is to preserve a just
public order, and the community’s is to build
and maintain a just peace.

Restorative programs are characterized by four


key values:
1. Encounter: Create opportunities for
victims, offenders and community
members who want to do so to meet to
discuss the crime and its aftermath
2. Amends: Expect offenders to take
steps to repair the harm they have
caused
3. Reintegration: Seek to restore victims
and offenders to whole, contributing
members of society
4. Inclusion: Provide opportunities for
parties with a stake in a specific crime
to participate in its resolution.

ON RESTORING DIGNITY

The statement presupposes that the dignity was


shattered and therefore needs restoration. True,
indeed, a prisoner loses his or her dignity upon

187
entrance into prison. Literally, the face is lost and
good name tarnished. It takes years to regain such
self-esteem broken by the thought of rejection and
anger. What the volunteers in prison service do is
to let the prisoners realize they have not forfeited
their status as children of God. We always say,
“We condemn the sin but not the sinner.” Despite
the person’s wrongdoing, he or she does not lose the
dignity of being created unto the image and likeness
of God. A person may be weak but not necessarily
wicked. Whether or not a person is guilty of a
crime, he remains a child of God worthy or being
forgiven after an act of reparation and
administration of justice.

If the prisoners live in hope, the future is laid open


to them. A philosopher defined hope as our “our
openness to the gift of the future.” I watched the
movie The Prisoner starred by Morgan Freeman. I
remember the message: “Fear imprisons a person.
Hope sets him free.” The prisoners must bear in
mind that the saints also had sinful acts and
tendencies in the past. If we honor them today, it is
because by their efforts coupled by the grace of
God, they managed to rise above their human
limitations. Then we can say, “every saint has a
past” and to that we can add, “every sinner has a
future.” Yes, every saint has a past, every sinner
has a future.

HEALING HURTS

188
On the part of the prisoners, hurts are undeniable.
There are at least three pains that a prisoner
endures: (1) The pain of having lost dignity, (2)
the pain of being separated from loved ones and
from the outside world and (3) the pain of having an
uncertain future.

The Pain of having lost dignity.


Again, the question here is not whether a prisoner is
guilty or innocent. The very fact that he is jailed is
already a cause of shame. Some would even say
that no amount of pardon, not even a sentence of
innocence, would undo whatever harm has been
done to an inmate. It is, therefore, the role of the
prison ministers to help the inmates heal themselves
of such a great pain. I remember the “Parable of the
Friend at Midnight.” The person will rise from his
sleep not so much because of their friendship but
because he does not want the other person who begs
for food to lose his face before his guest. The Greek
word used by the evangelist Luke is “anaideia”
which is literally translated, “absence of shame.”

It is interesting to note that the word anaideia comes


from aidos that can mean shame or face. Our
presence as prison ministers, our love and care, our
concern for the inmates are concrete means of
assuring them they have not really lost their face,
they have not lost their dignity.

The pain of being separated from loved ones and


the outside world. For us, Filipinos, the family is
the most important treasure. With our close family

189
ties, it is a pain to be separated from our families. If
going abroad for greener pastures already creates
such a pain, a person who is forced to leave his
family for detention experiences much. It is indeed
painful if not totally traumatic. When I was in
Rome for my studies, I experienced the agony of
being away from my loved ones. Believe you me; it
was unbearable. I was not imprisoned for a crime.
It was only an act of obedience to my bishop. But I
felt I was jailed. I would, therefore, imagine how
difficult it would be for an inmate to stay in prison.

Here comes the significant role of the members of


the family to visit their jailed relatives. Here also,
the volunteers in prison have an important role to
play. Our presence becomes an assurance that the
inmates are not alone. They have shoulders to lean
on. We can somehow be a substitute for the
relatives’ presence when proximity is unavailable
because they are a thousand unreachable miles away
from watch other.

The pain of having an uncertain future. A great


author once said, “the only fear we know is the fear
of not knowing.” Why do students fear their
examinations? It is because they do not know what
questions the professors are going to ask. Why do
we fear death? Simply because we do not know
what awaits us in the next life. Why are prisoners
afraid? I would imagine they fear the uncertainly of
their condition. For how long are they going to stay
and suffer inside the cell? Is there a hope of being
released? It is through the eyes of faith that we can

190
help them overcome this pain; it is through our
sharing of the Word of God that we can influence
their thoughts and attitude. We can give them hope.

In the Old and New Testaments, we read the


formula, “The Lord is with you”. It is a formula
address to people like Moses, Joshua, Gideon and
the Blessed Mother when they received missions so
difficult that it surpasses human power is an
assurance of divine help. We can tell the prisoners
not to fear because the Lord is with them. We can
convince them that we do not know our future but
we have God who holds our future.

BUILDING COMMUNITY

What I witnessed at the National Bilibid Prison was


a model of community. Prisoners are interacting.
They are held bound by their common worship and
prayer. The Eucharist becomes the focal point of
unity. I do not know if Liturgical training for the
inmates may be given for them to be subsequently
installed lay ministers. I think this is another way of
restoring the dignity of the inmates. It creates
confidence. It enhances potentials.

To build a community requires a good relationship


among members. The word “community” comes
from the Latin communis, which means imparting
that which is common, sharing or togetherness.
This relationship is strengthened by sharing not only
of material goods but also of insights and
reflections. Bible sharing is one means to help build

191
the community. Sharing of one’s faith experience
drawn from an insight on the Word of God creates
that fraternal bond among people who share the
same struggles and aspirations. There are other
means known to you who directly work for the
prisoners. I feel it is superfluous to mention them at
this juncture.

ANNEX “A”
-Manila Bulletin-

GMA signs Juvenile Justice Act


RA 9344 upholds rights of youth offenders
By GENALYN D. KABILING

Juvenile welfare council created under Department


of Justice.

President Arroyo signed Republic Act 9344 or the


Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 last April
28 without formal ceremonies before the 30-day
prescription period lapsed.

Under the law, children15 years old and below


would be exempted from criminal liability while
youth offenders aged 15 to 18 years old could only
be criminally charged if they committed the crime
with discernment.

It also provides the immediate turnover of children


in conflict with the law to social workers upon
apprehension.

192
If detention were necessary, the youth offenders
would be transferred to youth detention homes set
up by local governments and non-government
organizations.

The law also created the Juvenile Justice and


Welfare Council (JJWC) under the Department of
Justice (DOJ) that would oversee its implementation
and advise the President regarding the protection of
youth offenders.

With a DOJ undersecretary as head, the JJWC


would be composed of representatives from the
Department of Social Welfare and Development,
Council for the Welfare of children, Department of
Education, Department of Interior and Local
Government, Commission on Human Rights,
National Youth Commission, and two
representatives from the private sector.

The new body will also periodically develop a


comprehensive three-to five-year national juvenile
intervention program in coordination with
concerned government agencies and non-
government organization.

It will also formulate and recommend policies for


the administration of justice and the prevention of
juvenile delinquency as well as for the treatment,
rehabilitation and reintegration of the children in
conflict with the law.

193
An initial amount of P50 million was set aside for
the creation of the JJWC.

The law also exempts children aged 18 years and


below from prosecution for the crime of vagrancy
and prostitution, mendicancy and sniffing of rugby.
Instead, they would be subjected to counseling and
treatment programs.

Authorities were also prevented from branding


children as young criminals, juvenile delinquents,
prostitutes or any other derogatory names with
respect to the child’s class or ethnic origin.

Any person who violates the law would be fined not


less than P20,000 or suffer imprisonment of not less
than eight years. If the offender is a public officer
or employee, in addition to the fine and
imprisonment, he will be held administratively
liable and may be dismissed from office.

194
Non-institutional or
community-based
approach

Non-institutional correction of
offenders, on the other hand, is under the
Rehabilitation Bureau, which is also an
agency of the Ministry of Justice. As its
name implies, the Rehabilitation Bureau
is in charge of the treatment of offenders
that are not confined in prison facilities.
This bureau supervises the
administration of probation, parole and
after-care services for ex-prisoners who
were already released from prisons. It
should be noted that only about five
percent of sentenced adult offenders
come under imprisonment, the rest are
screened off and dealt with by other
means instead of incarceration. On the
other hand, sentenced juvenile offenders
who actually go to prison are even
smaller at only less than one-half of one
percent.

The Offenders Rehabilitation Law


aimed to protect society and promote the
welfare of the public and individuals by
promoting the reformation and
rehabilitation of offenders. It ensures the
proper granting of pardons, establishing
a fair and adequate system for the
administration of paroles and related

195
matters, and encouraging crime
prevention activities. It clarified the
purpose of rehabilitative treatment …the
need for professional services were
clearly recognized. To ensure effective
probation and parole services, the above-
mentioned law also required regularly
employed probation officers as the
mainstay of the system who has
sufficient expertise in behavioral
sciences. While volunteer workers were
assigned a subsidiary position with
professional probation officers.

The functions of the Juvenile


Tribunal were divided and assumed by
three new organizations: the Family
Court, the Juvenile Parole Board and the
Juvenile Probation Office.

The Juvenile Probation Office was


entrusted with the supervision of juvenile
probationers and parolees, 22 years old
or younger, from prisons or juvenile
training schools and those discharged by
the criminal court on suspended
sentences, age 17 or younger. As for

196
adult offenders, the Adult Parole Board
and the Adult Probation Office became
responsible for screening inmates age 23
and older for parole and subsequently
supervising their release.

Japanese corrections programs


place strong emphasis on parole instead
of waiting for expiration of sentence as a
mode of releasing convicted offenders.
Parole facilitates the inmate’s
reintegration to society. Upon admission
to a correctional facility, the inmate is
immediately prepared for parole release.

To be eligible for parole, an inmate


must fulfill two requirements:

1. He has served at least one-


third of his minimum sentence; and

2. He shows that he has


reformed.

The classification committee of


each regional corrections headquarters
meets at least once every month to
review parole applications. Prison
wardens are the ones who apply for the
grant of parole to an inmate under his
wardenship. The warden enters on the
application form the desirable date that
the parole should be granted. The

197
Regional Parole Boards are the ones who
decide whether to release an inmate on
parole based on the recommendation of
the classification committee and the
investigation report. The probation officer
who will handle the candidate upon
release prepares these documents.
Inmates to be released on parole will
then undergo a pre-release orientation
program for about two weeks prior to his
release.

To further enhance the effectivity


of corrections, several councils are on
hand to serve as advisory committees
that are directly responsible in reporting
to the Minister of Justice as mandated by
a Ministry of Justice Organization Order.
Whose job is to investigate and
deliberate on issues deemed important
for the improvement of inmate
rehabilitation and corrections operations.
These are the National Offenders
Rehabilitation Commission, the Volunteer
Officers Selection Commission and the
Correction and Rehabilitation Council
whose area of concern is both the
institutional and non-institutional
corrections. The Correction and
Rehabilitation Council is a collegial body
with about forty members chosen from
among scholars and officials involved in
correction and rehabilitation work. These

198
bodies are under the Public Security
Examination Commission, which is an
organ external to the Ministry of Justice.

The National Offenders


Rehabilitation Commission is a central
board attached to the Ministry of Justice.
The Commission has two major functions:
(1) to recommend amnesty for specific
individuals to the Minister of Justice; and
(2) to render judgment upon a complaint
filed by a probationer or parolee
regarding a decision by the Regional
Parole Board. Most of these complaints
pertain to the revocation of probation or
parole. The Commission has five
members appointed by the Minister of
Justice with the Japanese Diet’s (national
legislature) approval. As an independent
organization, however, it may freely pass
judgment and make recommendations to
the Minister.

The Japanese see that a single


institutional correction having a
centralized administration can achieve
the following advantages. These aspects
are:

199
1. standardized planning and
implementation on matters concerning
budget, staff and most importantly, the
treatment programs for inmates.
2. standardized qualification,
examination and recruitment of
appropriate correctional personnel.
3. systematic training to ensure
that correction staffs possess the
knowledge and skills required to perform
duties well.
4. improvement of institutional
managerial skills through interaction
among the different penal institutions.
5. improvement of treatment
methods and techniques through mutual
cooperation and assistance between
penal institutions.

The success of the criminal justice


system in Japan could be attributed to
the active participation of the citizenry in
crime prevention campaigns and
volunteer probation work. The Japanese
community-based treatment of offenders
system is also characterized by the
extensive participation of volunteers,
who come from the mainstay of services
in practice. United support that comes
from both government organizations and
the community makes it easier for
offenders to rehabilitate themselves.

200
Participants of the Crime Prevention
Campaign (1978-1998)

201
5000000 Series6
Others
Speech contest
4000000 1006100
Public lectures
Round table discussion 1013684

3000000 Parades 547208


949484
309629
260401 213799
246969
1176652
2000000 436018 340226
1064806
165781
226398
496607 392094
242001
1000000 272811 243693 1888713 1862280
173863
821802 1014901
597193
0
1978 1983 1988 1993 1998

Table 1 shows the number of


participants in crime prevention
campaigns for a 20-year period from
1978 to 1998.

Aside from active volunteer


probation officers, private enterprises are
also active in employing offenders or
delinquents to help them with their
rehabilitation through stable employment
and even the provision of emotional
support. Table 2 shows numbers of
employers cooperating with the work of
rehabilitation of offenders as of April 1,
1998.

202
Table 2. Number of Cooperative
Employers by Occupation (1998)

Occupation Number %
Construction 571 85.9
Manufacturing Industry 34 5.1
Service Entrepreneur 13 2.0
Wholesaler, retailer 1 0.2
Constructor of 7 1.1
electricity, gas and 7 1.1
water supply 1 0.2
Transportation 0 0.0
Agriculture, forestry & 31 4.7
fishery
Mining Industry
Others
Construction 571 85.9
Manufacturing Industry 34 5.1
Service Entrepreneur 13 2.0
Wholesaler, retailer 1 0.2
Constructor of 7 1.1
electricity, gas and 7 1.1
water supply 1 0.2
Transportation 0 0.0
Agriculture, forestry & 31 4.7
fishery

203
Mining Industry
Others
Total 665 100.0

And Table 3 shows the number


of offenders hired by these
cooperative employers as of the
same period.

Table 3. Employees Hired by


Cooperative Employers by Occupation
(1998)

Occupation Number %

Construction 1,947 46.1


Manufacturing Industry 710 16.8
Service Entrepreneur 463 11.0
Wholesaler, Retailer 237 5.6
Constructor of 176 4.2
electricity, gas and 156 3.7
water supply 57 1.3
Transportation 10 0.2
Agriculture, forestry & 472 11.2
fishery
Mining Industry
Others
Total 4,228 100.0

204
Test Your Self…

Exercise F

Fill in the blank with the correct


answer.

___________ 1. It is one of the major


activities undertaken for the inmate to
provide the skills necessary for the
inmates to work and survive upon
release.

___________ 2. It is refer to general guide


to everyday life. Inmates are taught life
skills, which are practical skills, needed
to cope with living in a community.

___________ 3. What newsletter of


corrections Bureau that means man and
is distributed to inmates nationwide.

___________ 4. It was officially registered


as the trademark in 1984, in order to
establish a corporate identity and
improved the image and marketability of
prison products.

205
___________ 5. What workshops operated
outside of the prison walls, which are
either owned and managed directly by
the state or managed by private sectors
cooperating with the prisons.

___________ 6. Who in-charge of the


treatment of offenders that are not
confined in prison facilities.

___________ 7. What law aimed to protect


society and promote the welfare of the
public and individuals by promoting the
reformation and rehabilitation of
offenders.

___________ 8. It was entrusted with the


supervision of juvenile probationers and
paroles, 22 years old or younger from
prisons or juvenile training schools and
those discharged by the criminal court on
suspended sentences, age 17 or younger.

___________ 9. Whose job is to investigate


and deliberate on issue deemed
important for the improvement of inmate
rehabilitation and corrections operations.

___________ 10. Who decide to release an


inmate on parole based on the
recommendation of the classification
committee and the investigation report.

206
11,

12.

13.

United States of America

Starting about 200 years ago, the


United States has become the
frontrunner on the matter of correction.
Their corrections facilities and programs
are the most efficient in terms of
technology, facilities, financial as well as
the nature of the caliber of their human
resources.

One noteworthy program being


implemented in the States of Nebraska,
New York, North Carolina and South
Dakota are the parenting program and
nursery facilities being maintained in
some prisons of certain states. Under this
program, children of female prisoners are
allowed to live with their incarcerated
mothers while serving their sentences.
Because of this, nursery facilities were
set up inside the prison. Many corrections

207
facilities even built separate visitation
areas so that children and their
incarcerated mothers can be given the
chance to spend memorable times to
play, read or do worthwhile things
together. Overnight visits in the context
of parenting programs are also allowed.

North Carolina called this program


MATCH that stands for Mothers And Their
Children and had this installed at the
North Carolina Correctional Institution for
Women in Raleigh, North Carolina. Some
0states have passed laws making it
mandatory for their social workers
to ensure that the children get to
visit their incarcerated mothers. The
reason behind this program is that
research has proved that separation
of mothers with their children
traumatically affects both parties. If
this is not addressed, treatment of
incarcerated mothers will be
affected while their children will
have a greatly increased risk of life
failure and incarceration when they
grow up.

The State of Texas created in 1993,


special confinement facilities called State
Jails For Soft Offenders or those that were
sentenced for light offenses which were
given prison sentences because it is

208
rampant and posing a menace to society.
These soft crimes include possession of
small doses of drugs, credit card abuse
and other petty criminal mischiefs. This
new jail system was put in place to
save on cost if the soft offenders
were confined in expensive high-
security prisons. Another benefit is
that these special inmates need not
be exposed to the hardened
criminals or recidivists, which might
influence them to become criminal-
minded upon their release.

Since the atmosphere of this


state jails are less stringent,
offenders can participate more
easily in their rehabilitation and
treatment programs. They can also
participate more easily in
community programs, life skills
building and educational and
vocational training.

The Prince George’s County


Department of Corrections (DOC)
opened a direct-supervision facility
in Upper Marlboro, Md. in 1987. As
the name suggests, direct-
supervision approach to managing
inmates creates no walls dividing
staff and inmates unlike in
traditional facilities where inmates

209
are “caged” in cells that are
padlocked while guards watch 24
hours to ensure that the cells remain
padlocked. In this approach, staffs
possess excellent interpersonal
communication skills and maintain
good relations with the inmates
based on friendship and respect. This
is the basis of a safe and orderly facility
rather than threat and coercion.
However, just in case, prison security is
compromised, there is a highly trained
team to respond to the emergency with
dispatch to quell any untoward incident.

The Marion Correctional


Institution for medium-security male
prisoners in the state of Ohio
operates a closed-circuit video
television station called Prison News
Network (PNN) Broadcasting
Program. This project is a
component of the education
apprenticeship program of the Ohio
Department of Rehabilitation and
Corrections (ODRC). The program is
aired 16 hours every day of the week
and is capable of reaching all of the
state’s 34 penal facilities housing
45,000 offenders plus 16,000
corrections personnel of ODRC and
the outside community viewership to
which PNN produce special video

210
information and documentary shows
for its community partners.

Prison News Network (PNN) started


as a program to dish out news of inmate
activities and information to the inmates
that may be useful to them. After some
years, other projects of the ODRC and
other state prisons were included. Then
in-service trainings of staff were
disseminated through the PNN.
Eventually even institutional events like
inmate graduations, and other
happenings inside the prisons were aired.

The PNN produces various


informative programs valuable not only
to the prison network but also to the
community at large. The topics usually
produced and shown are about prison-
related security issues, prison and
community health, parenting, and many
others. The program also dishes out
information about prison rules and
regulations, guides to timely or early
release, and anything valuable to both
the prison community and outside
community. The circuit provides training
videos to improve staff performance.

Prison News Network (PNN)


had its beginnings in 1991 and its
first production was titled

211
Communicable Diseases in Prisons.
To enhance the crew’s talent, a
journalism/radio/TV professional was
hired as consultant to train the crew
on the use of cameras, TV show
production, scriptwriting, music and
graphics. Nevertheless, what is
unique in PNN is that mostly the
inmates themselves operate it.

PNN has the potential for making


Restorative Justice work by
becoming a bridge between the
offender, the victim, the nonprofit
organizations and the community at
large to all work hand in hand to
restore the previous relationship
that was shattered by the crime.

Dealing with prisoners poses great


challenge to every corrections officer.
The challenge is greatest when prisoners
we deal with are the super mean
prisoners from the super maximum-
security prisons. Managing such high-risk
institution does not necessarily need
high-risk managers. Managing super
mean inmates requires supermen.

Every correctional institution the


world over has them: prisoners who are
the worst among the worst, the baddest
of the bad, the cream of the crop, very

212
calculating and scheming. In fact, the
state of Wisconsin has them too.

What Wisconsin did was to open


a Super Maximum Prisons in
Boscobel sometime in 1999 to
confine the worst offenders to
separate them from the general
prison population and also to
separate them from each other.

The Super Maximum Prison is


the ultimate place of confinement
for inmates who are troublemakers
in lower security prisons. It is not a
facility intended for serving entire
sentences but is some kind of a
purgatory where inmates are
destined for being unruly but is
taken out when he has shown
remorse and show improved
behavior. As the supermax inmate
shows compliance, he is moved through
different security levels until he is
“cleansed”, then he will be returned to
lower security confinement facility. In
short, the supermax operates along the
same lines as the hot seat or the
“plantsa” of yesteryears.

In the design of the facility, veteran


corrections officers, prison operators and
security experts as well as technology

213
specialists were gathered to share their
collective knowledge, experience and
skills in designing the super maximum
prison.

From the outset, four sets of goals


was clear; safety of the inmate from the
other inmates, safety of the staff from
the inmates, safety of the public from the
inmates, and processing of the inmate to
change for the better.

From these, two tasks have been


clearly inferred: One is securing the
inmate and the second is the application
of an effective behavioral management
approach designed to change the
inmates’ long-held behavioral pattern.
Wisconsin combined the physical aspect
of incarceration and emotional
conscientization.

State of the Art Technology is


used in the physical layout of the
facility; its first line of defense in
case of assault and its last line in
case of escape are two 12-foot razor-
ribboned fences. In between these
two fences is another electrified
fence operating in two modes, the
stun, which is intended to shock and
the lethal, which is intended to kill.
In addition, cameras monitor the

214
area and in case of alarm, will
automatically pan, tilt and zoom the
area.

The perimeter fence, door


monitoring and control, intercom
systems, video surveillance, motion
detection and exterior lights,
architecture and structure are
integrated towards security and
interfacing to provide automatic
counterchecking. Without
exemption, everyone entering is
verified through biometric system
utilizing hand-scan, digital photos
and personal ID numbers. In case
anything occurs, all movements are
recorded similar to an airplane
BLACK BOX to provide a trail of
events to aid investigation.

All activities inside the entire


facility can be monitored at a glance.
Motion-sensing cameras also monitor
staff going through the cells. Interaction
between staff and inmate are viewed and
recorded. The cells can only be remotely
opened at central control after a key
signal is confirmed by audio through
speakers mounted in the ceiling or
intercom stations and video verified by
cameras.

215
Another Supermax Prison, the
Colorado State Penitentiary (CSP),
worked on the supermax inmates by
starting with research on the type of
anti-social personalities they were
dealing with. They studied the inmates’
value systems that drive them to such
fits of uncontrollable behavior. They then
designed programs that jibed with the
type of anti-social personalities in CSP.

The program they came up with


include cognitive restructuring where
the inmates realize how their thinking led
them to such behavior and how decisions
they make affect their lives even many
years thereafter. Then they were given
study lessons on anger management and
victim sensitization. Even studies of
inmate gangs were not spared. Moreover,
of course, life skills were also imparted
on the supermax inmates. For those
showing signs of regression from
despicable behavior, they undergo a
transitional program to have them
returned to the general population.

Evaluating CSP’s success rate


compared to other super maximum
facilities, the rate of return to supermax
for those who were returned to the
general population from the supermax,
only 4.8 percent did so within a two-year

216
period while the failure rate of other
supermax prisons is 33 percent. Another
measure of its success is the fact that
CSP was the first supermax prison to be
accredited by the American
Correctional Association (ACA) and
only recently, was again reaccredited.
Furthermore, CSP was included in the
1997 ACA publication, Best Practices:
Excellence in Corrections. And lastly, CSP
has been the object of visit by criminal
justice practitioners from far and wide.

But in the final analysis, the


success of CSP could not have been
made possible without the presence of
intensively trained and mentored
professional staff that worked effectively
as a team in making a difference in the
lives of the inmates who are most
difficult to live with. These empowered
correctional officers are truly super
mean; they are the best in the business.

On the drug front, proposals for


corrective measures to address the
growing drug problem in the United
States is being forwarded by various
states led by the states of New York and
New Mexico and being enthusiastically
pushed also by the states of Arkansas,
Hawaii, Idaho, Oklahoma, Utah and
Wyoming.

217
In the face of rising drug use in the
early 1970s, the state of New York
passed the Rockefeller Drug Law
making it mandatory for sentenced
drug offenders to spend from 15
years to life in prison for selling at
least 2 ounces of drugs or
possessing at least four ounces. In no
time, the United States used this as
model for a national law. This was copied
by the nation. As a result, approximately
150,000 drug offenders were sent to
prison every year increasing the prison
population four times.

But the drug problem only


aggravated. Very few big-time drug
dealers were caught because they
are well oiled by the drug trade and
they have the resources to thwart
conviction. To make matters worse,
states were forced to shell out about $80
billion per year for prosecution, court,
prison, and social program expenditures
to put the drug offenders behind bars.

Now, these states are proposing


to move from the imprisonment
model to the medical model through
reduced sentences, probation and
mandatory treatment for first time,
and even second time. While non-

218
violent offenders instead of prison
time, should turn to intensify
prevention and education programs,
and putting up voluntary treatment
centers.

There are two contradicting


forces in corrections. The
conservative force that see the need
to guard the inmates so that nothing
will happen to him in prison or he
will not escape to evade punishment
and commit another crime. This calls
for restrictions. On the other side of
the fence is the liberal force that
sees the need for leniency in the
treatment of the offender so that he
will become a productive and
conforming member of society. This
calls for openness, something that is
opposed to the other force,
restriction. Correctional systems the
world over are in a quandary on
what to adopt in their respective
jurisdictions whether security or
treatment. Some are at pains on how
to best balance the two in order to
gain the most results.

The state of Vermont, despite its


being quite progressive, erred on the side
of conservatism on the manner it treats
its convicted offenders. The security-

219
minded approach failed to bring about
positive change in the offender. In 1986,
a team of psychologists reviewed the
state’s correctional system practices. The
researchers came up with
recommendations to address the
system’s weaknesses and failures. Thus,
the Cognitive Self-Change (CSC)
Program was born.

The team developed a new


alternative to the traditional processes
followed by Vermont correctional system
focusing on the offender’s social
attitudes, self-image and cognitive
structures. They also recommended that
intervention be weaned away from the
prison psychologist’s sole domain and
moved into the inmate cells by devolving
this task to the correctional officers and
caseworkers. In other words, the
frontliners should be primed to do
corrections the psychologist way.

This is what makes the CSC


unique. The personnel that are in
direct contact with the inmates are
the ones utilized as medium in
bringing this program to the
inmates. These people are the most
appropriate to carry out the program to
successful fruition because they are the
ones who know what is happening below.

220
They are familiar and maybe even
friendly with the inmates considering that
they are exposed to each other most of
the time. To be effective, these line
people are given prior training on how to
do the program while the mental health
professionals and psychologists provide
facilitation, guidance and supervision.

Offenders undergo the process of


CSC in structured group format with each
group consisting of eight offenders being
facilitated by two staff members trained
in the CSC process. They meet two to
three sessions per week lasting from six
months to two years depending on the
offenders’ length of sentence. The
process is similar to the sharing and
witnessing sessions of Bible study
groups. In the sessions, each member
describes a recent situation in the
offender’s life, explaining how he feels
about that situation he just describe and
connecting that to how it could lead to
trouble or to crime. Later on, every
member of the group will be scheduled to
make an extensive written presentation
of his thoughts, beliefs and attitudes
regarding the crime he committed to
which he is now serving time.

Eventually, group members are


made to review their criminal histories

221
and examine the thinking and behavior
that went with the crime. And then the
group members will be made to describe
the kind of thinking and reaction they
should hold in order not to commit the
same response that led them to where
they are now. In the process of
undergoing CSC, group members help
one another in mastering its intricacies.

In the later phase, group members


will be made to make their own risk
management plan incorporating thinking,
behaviors and attitudes that led to crime
and violence. They will formulate specific
actions to prevent similar situations from
occurring in the future. This plan will be
brought out by the offenders to the
community upon their release and will
serve as their guide to trouble avoidance

COGNITIVE SELF CHANGE is


actually a process of attaining a high
sense of responsibility. It makes the
offender, aware of the consequences
of his behavior and achieving self-
discipline and mastery of one’s self
to make offenders realize that they
have conscious control of their lives.
They are being taught to move
according to rational reasoning

222
rather than raging emotion that
leads to uncontrollable fits of anger
and then violence, trouble and
crime.

CSC is applicable to a wide variety


of felons including drug abusers, sex
offenders, juveniles, female aggressors
and many others. The CSC process is
particularly recommended for violent,
high-risk offenders. However, inmates
with serious mental disturbance may not
be able to fully grasp the CSC process
that may, in turn, seriously hamper his
full participation in the program. This will
have a bearing on the results he will get
from the process. Those with low
intellectual capacity and those who are
illiterate can still benefit from this
program.

Today, the CSC process is gaining


popularity and is spreading not only in
the United States and Canada but also in
the European Union.

The State of California also has


come to realize that the growing drug
menace cannot be solved through the
hard-line approach of incarceration.
Eventually, the State Legislature passed
a law, which mandates treatment rather
than incarceration for nonviolent drug

223
offenders. This in turn led to a
realignment of resources away from the
expensive incarceration mode to the
treatment mode.

When the juvenile crime rate rose


alarmingly in the United States in the
early 1990s, the State Legislature of
Kansas instead of tightening the kid-
gloves treatment it accords its juvenile
delinquents went after the parents of
youthful offenders. State legislature put a
substantial part of the blame for juvenile
offenders squarely on the lap of their
parents. It has been thought that
juveniles come in conflict with the law
because of negligence or weak parenting
skills. It is but right, therefore, that the
cost of such negligence or weakness
should be borne not by the community
but by the parents. Several measures to
make the parents answerable for their
children’s misdemeanors were put into
effect. Some of these are:

1. The cost of
certain services such as probation and
out-of-home placement shall be
shouldered by the parents;

2. Courts may
order the families of youthful offenders to

224
attend counseling together with the
offender;

3. The health
insurance policies of parents may also be
accessed to pay for the juvenile
offender’s upkeep while in the custody of
the state. This will include medical care
and drug treatment expenses for the
juvenile offender.
It is hoped that by hurting the
pockets of parents, they will become
more conscious and careful in nurturing
responsible youths.

In the United States, Kansas is


considered as one of the trendsetters in
terms of moderation and common sense.
Where Kansas goes, the rest of the
country goes too. Therefore, it is highly
probable that these “moderate and
sensible” measures will soon be copied
by other states. And the United States is
the world’s trendsetter. Whatever she
does, the rest of the world will soon
follow suit.

The State of Connecticut,


meanwhile, utilizes the traditional
methods of corrections but have it
bolstered through the setting of higher
competitive standards in the recruitment
of only the most qualified and best-

225
prepared applicants. The Connecticut
Department of Corrections (CDOC)
ensures this through a partnership with
the statewide community college system.
Together, corrections and academe
developed a criminal justice pre-
employment curriculum and internship
that gives the students practical
knowledge, skills and attitude to become
a well-grounded and adequately
prepared entry-level corrections officer.

CDOC also equip its recruits with a


pre-service training program that
includes the orientation of their families
making them understand the kind of
work their member does as a corrections
officer. The body and expects them to
wholeheartedly support the said officer.
CDOC realizes that assuming such
position makes them vulnerable to great
stress and high divorce probability rate
due to lengthy working hours. But
through the spouse understanding of the
nature of corrections work and providing
appropriate support, this stress and
strain on family relationships becomes
manageable.

In the US, recidivism hovers at a


high 40 to 70 percent. Not unlike in the
Philippines where it is low because of the
Filipino culture of the extended family

226
system where a released inmate will not
be found wanting in whatever support
from family and relatives including even
the very distant ones. In the US, a person
becomes independent upon reaching the
age of 18 and he has to get out of his
parents’ house whether he has a job or
not. Once a person becomes
independent, no support is ever
extended to him even by his own parents
or siblings. So much so that when a man
becomes incarcerated, there is no family
to rely on for support especially at the
most vulnerable time in the few months
after his release.

It is in this context of the American


way of life that it is crucial that a newly
released inmate be given all the support
he needs to make a successful transition
him to mainstream US society. In the
state of Florida, a nonprofit company
called the Prison Rehabilitative
Industries and Diversified
Enterprises (PRIDE) operates prison
industries with a mission to provide
job skills training for inmates while
still behind bars and offer job
placement after release. PRIDE has
been operating behind bars since
1981 in cooperation with the Florida
Department of Corrections. It
complements other vocational and

227
educational programs offered in
Florida state prisons.

The three missions of PRIDE are:

1. improve p
reducing idleness and providing
incentives for good behavior;

2. reduce st
utilizing inmate labor to produce goods
and services; and

3. improve i
closely resembling work set-up to outside
business enterprises.

The Florida Department of Juvenile


Justice (DJJ) has also a similar program
for its juvenile offenders. Three years
ago, it contracted a private corporation,
Securicor New Century Plc to help in the
design and operation of a program for
juvenile inmates. This public-private
partnership came up with a program
called STREET Smart (Success,
Transition assistance, Reduced
recidivism, Employment, Education
and Teamwork), and is proving to be
a success. Juvenile offenders
accepted to the program not only

228
learn solid technical skills and actual
work experiences needed to get a
job upon release. They also acquired
the skills on how to conduct
themselves responsibly especially
with bosses and fellow workers that
are not easy to get along with. In
short, they are taught the
interpersonal skills to go through
life in a positive and acceptable way.

The State of Maryland Division of


Corrections also utilize a prison industry
arm, the State Use Industries (SUI) to
operate industries using qualified
inmates to work in a set-up closely
resembling the work operation of
businesses in the private sector. In 2001,
SUI employed 1,377 inmates in nine state
prisons producing furniture, textile,
graphics, metal products and meat
processing which was sold for over $38
million.

Likewise, the State of North Dakota


also has a strong corrections industries
program with its partnership with the
Rough Rider Industries. The state does
not spend anything for this program.
They teach skills to the inmates and
bring the inmates out of the cells to work
eight hours a day in the factories located
inside the facility. The products being

229
turned out include furniture, upholstery,
metal factory, cut and sew operation, and
signs. Before an inmate could be
accepted to work, however, he must be
of good behavior and complies with all
the treatment and education
programming he is designed to undergo.
The Louisiana State Penitentiary at
Angola is also another prison facility that
is comprehensive in its treatment and
rehabilitation program for its long-term
inmates. They are provided with
meaningful educational and training
opportunities, gainful work, good
recreational activities, maintain positive
family relations, and spiritual formation.
To maintain order and discipline, each
inmate is his “brother’s keeper.” Every
inmate is responsible for the actuations
of all the others. There is collective
responsibility and collective guilt. The
infraction of one is the infraction of all
and their privileges are collectively
withdrawn when this happens. This
moves the inmates to discipline their
ranks and report to prison authorities
anyone who threaten the stability of the
facility. For example, if a weapon will be
found that have been produced in a
workshop, the entire area will be closed
thereby affecting the work of all those
assigned there. This in turn will affect the
income of the inmates working there.

230
Inmates are then in no mood to violate
the rules, knowing that other inmates will
suffer. And they are discouraged from
doing this knowing that other inmates
who want to ensure that their privileges
are available will always be watching and
apt to report them.

The inmates earn income from


their products and the prison host annual
events featuring exhibits and sale of
inmate products. But the inmates are not
only encouraged to earn and learn. They
are also urged to grow spiritually, be
morally rehabilitated and change from
within, and be compassionate and most
of all, to learn the importance of every
single life and value it. Not only a change
of mind but also a change of heart. To
achieve this, religious volunteers are
allowed access to the inmates. In fact, a
one-of-a-Bible College offering a four-
year degree program in theology,
sociology and general studies in
partnership with an accredited college.
By allowing this religious learning plus
the other activities such as the award-
winning hospice program and the making
of caskets and hearses helped to spread
a spiritual atmosphere that contributed
to less violence.

231
These older inmates but trained to
become wiser has been programmed to
become positive role models for newly
arriving, younger, laden with anger
inmates. The prison staff makes use of
their services and training to give
orientation to the new arrivals, serve as
counselors, tutors, vocational instructors
and religious ministers for those who
graduated from the bible college.

In 1997, the States of Florida,


New York and Texas with funding
from the Department of Education’s
Star Schools Program, banded
together to form the Justice Distance
Learning Consortium (JDLC). JDLC
launched SAFETY-NET (Systems
Applications For Educating Troubled
Youths) in 63 corrections facilities in
the three states the purpose of
which was to develop a distribution
network for high-quality video,
computer and Internet educational
resources for classrooms within
prison walls.

Prison educators and teachers have


benefited immensely from the wealth of
curriculum materials and multimedia
resources to reach students with different
learning styles. Many inmates are not as
normal as those students from the

232
outside and that the traditional classroom
experience is not effective with these
special learners. With SAFETY-NET,
learning is no longer confined to the
traditional styles of reading for the entire
class but has become interactive, fun and
challenging. There is a wide array of
programs, teaching aids and lesson plans
available on the website along with
discussion forums and a place to share
student projects. Teachers in every
subject will find readily available
resources to help them reach students
who normally would not imbibe
knowledge in traditional classroom
settings and would need more than a
written report of materials they have
studied to learn. The program also allows
teachers to participate in professional
development workshops and seminars
through these facilities.

233
Test Your Self…

Exercise G

Fill in the blank with the


correct answer.

234
___________ 1. What
Medium Security male
prisoner in the state of Ohio
operates a closed-circuit
video television station called
Prison News Network
Broadcasting Program.

___________ 2. Who has the potential for


making Restorative Justice work by
becoming a bridge between the offender,
the victims, the non-profit organizations
and the community at large to all work
hand in hand to restore the previous
relationship that was shattered by the
crime.

___________ 3. What is the ultimate place


of confinement for inmates who are
troublemakers in lower security prisons.

___________ 4. What Law passed in state


of New York in 1970 making it mandatory
for sentenced drug offenders to spend
from 15 years to life in prison for selling
at least 2 ounces of drugs or possessing
at least four ounces.

____________ 5. It is applicable to a wide


variety of felons including drug abuser,
sex offender, juveniles, and female
aggressors and particularly

235
recommended for violent, high-risk
offenders.

____________ 6. It’s equip with a pre


service training program that includes
the orientation program that includes the
orientation of their families making them
understand the kind of work their
members does as a corrections officer.

____________ 7. It is non-profit company


operates prison industries with a mission
to provide job skills training for inmates
while still behind bars and offer job
placement after release.

_____________ 8. What state correction


utilize a prison industry arm, the State
Use Industries (SUI) to operates
industries using qualified inmates to work
in a set-up closely resembling the work
operation of business in the private
sector.

_____________ 9. What program of North


Carolina Correctional Institute for Women
to ensure that the children get visit their
incarcerated mothers.

_____________ 10. What program of


private and public sector that contributes
not only to learn solid technical skills and
actual work experience needed to get a

236
job upon release. They also acquired the
skills on how to conduct themselves
responsibly especially with bosses and
fellow workers that are not easy to get
along with them.
South Africa

A new concept in the treatment


and rehabilitation of juvenile offenders in
South Africa is being pioneered in the
juvenile section of the Leeuwkop
Medium-B Prison in Johannesburg, South
Africa. This is called Reintegration Center
or RC. Should this prove effective, RC’s
will be proposed for construction outside
of prison facilities where the youth
offenders will be retransformed.

Reintegration Centers will serve as


a platform for the institution of programs
designed not only to rehabilitate but also
to successfully return young offenders
back into mainstream society. The
ingredients that must be present to make
reintegration a reality are:

1. ardent support from the


community.

2. affectionate family
cooperation.

3. life skills development.

237
The community should be able to
make the inmate feel accepted upon his
return. The business community in
particular should be able to give the
chance to the released youth to be
employed and prove himself worthy. The
RC program has tapped an employment
agency to place the offender for work
commensurate to his qualifications and
expectations upon release. As part of its
community support building efforts, RC
program embarked on information
campaign in schools, offices,
communities and even international
audiences with speakers talking from
their personal experiences who led a life
of violence and crime making the
message very forceful but very
convincing.

The offender’s family is also part of


the equation for success. They are his
immediate and most reliable pillars of
support especially in the early
readjustment periods he will go through
after his release. A supportive family will
enhance the youth’s resolve to succeed.

The life skills development involves


two activities. The first is Usiko, which, in
the local dialect, means heritage. Usiko
involves traditional lessons focusing on

238
values and morals combined with life
skills building exercises aimed at
regaining the offender’s self-respect and
sense of responsibility. The second
activity is a three-month self-study effort
through experiential learning but with
facilitated group discussions designed to
lead to self-discovery and self-
transformation. Part of the activities is an
emotional intelligence workshop.

Tests will be conducted on the


youth offender and an individualized
training program suited to his unique
needs will be formulated. The aim of
training is for the participant to develop
competencies useful for lifelong learning
by addressing illiteracy and poor
numeracy, weak creativity, problem-
solving, team building, behavioral and
social skills, sense of responsibility and
self-esteem. To be useful, the training
will be accredited.

A shade of Restorative Justice is


present in this RC program because part
of the effort is working with the victim’s
family. The focus is total to ensure that
supports from all quarters are maximized
as a way to minimize returning to a life of
crime.

239
Sweden

The basic philosophy of the


Swedes as far as their criminal
justice is concerned is that
incarceration should as much as
possible be avoided. To them, the
cost of imprisoning convicts does
not adequately compensate for the
returns they get from it. It is not
that offenders should be left off the
hook without in any way being made
responsible and atone for his crime.

Some of the measures adopted


as penal sanctions in Sweden are:

1. Probation.

This is the most common form


of sanction used. The probationer is
usually under probation supervision
for a period of one year depending
on the severity of the crime and the
sentence. Sometimes probation is
granted only after a short prison
sentence has been served or the
court-ordered fine has been paid.
Just like any other country, any
violation of the terms and conditions
of probation will cancel it and the
probationer shall have to serve his
sentence behind bars.

240
2. Probation with community
service.

Under this scheme, the


offender has been so sentenced by
the courts to go on probation but
must render service to the
community designated by the court.
The offender is required to perform
work during his spare time the
length of work is between 40 to 240
hours depending on the seriousness
of the crime committed. The
Swedish Probation Service rely on
community volunteers to assist in
the supervision of the probationer’s
community service. In some cases,
they supervise the probationer
themselves. These volunteers are
called lay supervisors and they are
responsible for ensuring that the
probationer complies with the
conditions of his probation. They
also assist the probationer in
meeting his housing needs and
finding a job.

3. Probation with treatment


is a method by which convicted

241
offenders with drug abuse problems
undergo compulsory treatment while
under probation and be healed as a
condition for not going to prison to
serve his sentence.

4. House imprisonment with


probation supervision. This is
something similar to the house
arrests resorted to by President
Marcos at the height of the Martial
Law years as a way to curtail the
activities of people opposed to his
form of government. Under this set-
up of the Swedes, an offender is
ordered by the court to serve his
sentence at home and the Swedish
Probation Service supervises him. To
carry out his supervision, he is
monitored at home through
electronic surveillance equipment
installed by the authorities at the
offender’s home.

5. Conditional sentencing.
This sanction is applied to first-time
offenders where the sentencing
court see that the offender will not
likely to commit another crime. This
conditional sentencing penalty will
be revoked if the offender commits
another crime within two-years from
his original sentencing. The offender

242
is not supervised and virtually scot-
free. Sometimes the penalty is
combined with community service as
a way to repay for the offender’s
misdeeds. In other times, the
penalty can also be combined with a
fine if the offender does not want to
render community service; either
out of a sense of shame or the
offender’s circumstances renders
him unable to perform such service.

In summary, these penal sanctions


are comparably much, much lenient and
liberal compared with the more
aggressive and brutal penal practices
imposed in other countries. This,
however, is indicative of the underlying
atmosphere of social democratic
philosophies pervading in the
Scandinavian countries of which Sweden
is part. This also underscores the fact
that the Swedes are law-abiding and they
are confident that their brand of justice is
more effective without having to resort to
more violent sanctions such as actual
imprisonment. To them, nothing is more
abhorrent than to respond to the
problems of criminal violence and
brutality through state violence and
brutality too.

243
Canada

The correctional practices of


Canada, the United States’ backdoor
neighbor to the north, model its
programs after the American experience.
But like in many parts of the world, there
is a growing realization in this country of
the uselessness of incarceration in
certain cases, particularly drug abuse.
Canadian criminal justice practitioners
are finding out that treating offenders in
the community instead of resorting to the
uneconomical method of incarcerating
them in expensive prison facilities is
more effective.

With this, the Justice Department of


the Federal Government of Canada came
up with a National Strategy on
Community Safety and Crime Prevention
program that is funded and administered
by the National Crime Prevention Center.
For a starter, they operationalized a
Court in Toronto, Canada that is tasked
with supervising the treatment of
offenders charged with prostitution-
related offenses, possession or trafficking
of small amounts of drugs, and other
similar non-violent crimes.

244
Test Your Self…

Exercise H

Fill in the blank


with the correct answer.

__________ 1. It serves as a platform for


the institution of programs designed not
only to rehabilitate but also to

245
successfully return young offenders back
into mainstream society.

__________ 2. It involves traditional


lessons focusing on values and morals
combined with life skills building
exercises aimed at regaining the
offender’s self-respect and sense of
responsibility.

___________ 3. What is the most common


form of sanction used.

___________ 4. The offender has been so


sentenced by the courts to go on
probation but must render service to the
community designated by the court.

___________ 5.What method which


convicted offenders with drug abuse
problems undergo compulsory treatment
while under probation and be healed as a
condition for not going to prison to serve
his sentence.

___________ 6. What sanction is applied to


first-time offenders where the sentencing
court see that the offender will not likely
to commit another crime.
___________ 7. It is similar to the house
arrest resorted to President Marcos at the
height of the Martial Law.

246
___________ 8. The tasked are supervising
the treatment of offenders charged with
prostitution-related offenses, possession
or trafficking of small amounts of drugs,
and other similar non-violent crimes.

___________ 9. The offender is required to


perform work during his spare time the
length of work is between 40 to 240
hours depending on the seriousness of
the crime committed.

___________ 10. The penalty will be


revoked if the offender commits another
crime within two-years from his original
sentencing.

247
SUGGESTED SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS:

248
Correction Bureau, Ministry of Justice,
Japan. Correctional Institutions in Japan.
1990, p. 7.

Carol Caldwell, Mack Jarvies and Herbert


Rosefield. Issues Impacting Todays
Geriatric Female Offenders. Corrections
Today (ISSN 0190-2563, USPS 019-640)
Published by the American Correctional
Association Inc., 4380 Forbes Blvd.,
Lanham, MD, August 2001.

Christine Ta. Prison Partnership--It’s


About People. Corrections Today (ISSN
0190-2563, USPS 019-640) Published by
the American Correctional Association
Inc., 4380 Forbes Blvd., Lanham, MD,
October 2000.

Viability in the Corrections Environment.


Corrections Today (ISSN 0190-2563,
USPS 019-640) Published by the
American Correctional Association., 4380
Forbes Blvd., Lanham, MD 20706-4322,
July 2001.

Tim Brant. Prison Network Broadcasting


System. Corrections Today (ISSN 0190-
2563, USPS 019-640) Published by the
American Correctional Association., 4380
Forbes Blvd., Lanham, MD 20706-4322,
July 2001.

249
Lesley Ann van Selm. Reintegration
Center for South Africa’s Juvenile
Offenders. Corrections Today (ISSN 0190-
2563, USPS 019-640) Published by the
American Correctional Association, 4380
Forbes Blvd., Lanham, MD 20706-4322,
July 2001.

Eugene Atherton. Incapacitation With a


Purpose. Corrections Today (ISSN 0190-
2563, USPS 019-640) Published by the
American Correctional Association., 4380
Forbes Blvd., Lanham, MD 20706-4322,
July 2001.

Gerald Berge, Jeffrey Geiger and Scot


Whitney. TECHNOLOGY IS THE KEY 2
SECURITY IN WISCONSIN SUPERMAX.
Corrections Today (ISSN 0190-2563,
USPS 019-640) Published by the
American Correctional Association., 4380
Forbes Blvd., Lanham, MD 20706-4322,
July 2001.

Donald G. Evans. Community Sanctions


in Sweden. Corrections Today Magazine,
(ISSN 0190-2563, USPS 019-640)
Published by the American Correctional
Association., 4380 Forbes Blvd., Lanham,
MD 20706-4322, April 2001.

250
Thomas Powell, Jack Bush and Brian
Bilodeau. Vermont’s Cognitive Self-
Change Program; A 15-Year Review.
Corrections Today (ISSN 0190-2563,
USPS 019-640) Published by the
American Correctional Association., 4380
Forbes Blvd., Lanham, MD 20706-4322,
July 2001.

Andrews, Don, James Bona and Robert


Hoge, 1990. Classification for effective
rehabilitation: Rediscovering psychology.
Criminal Justice and Behavior, 17(1):19-
52.
Donald G. Evans. Canada's First Drug
Treatment Court. Corrections Today
(ISSN 0190-2563, USPS 019-640)
Published by the American Correctional
Association., 4380 Forbes Blvd., Lanham,
MD 20706-4322, June 2001.
Dennis Casamento Musser. Public Access
to Juvenile Records in Kansas.
Corrections Today (ISSN 0190-2563,
USPS 019-640) Published by the
American Correctional Association., 4380
Forbes Blvd., Lanham, MD 20706-4322,
June 2001.

James S. Turpin. Initiative and


Referendum: Another Front, Corrections
Today Magazine, (ISSN 0190-2563, USPS
019-640) Published by the American
Correctional Association., 4380 Forbes

251
Blvd., Lanham, MD 20706-4322, February
2001.

John J. Armstrong. Staff Safety and


Wellness--An Evolving Commitment.
Corrections Today Magazine, (ISSN 0190-
2563, USPS 019-640) Published by the
American Correctional Association., 4380
Forbes Blvd., Lanham, MD 20706-4322,
October 2001.

Bob Wignall. Making a Smooth


Transition. Corrections Today Magazine
(ISSN 0190-2563, USPS 019-640)
Published by the American Correctional
Association., 4380 Forbes Blvd., Lanham,
MD 20706-4322, April 2002.

Joseph C. Sommerville, Susan F. Lauer


and Cliff Benser. State Use Industries
Expands Use of CAD Design. Corrections
Today Magazine (ISSN 0190-2563, USPS
019-640) Published by the American
Correctional Association., 4380 Forbes
Blvd., Lanham, MD 20706-4322, April
2002.

Jennifer L. Harry. An Interview with Elaine


Little: Director of the North Dakota
Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation. Corrections Today (ISSN
0190-2563, USPS 019-640) Published by
the American Correctional Association.,

252
4380 Forbes Blvd., Lanham, MD 20706-
4322, June 2002.

John Morgenthau and Kevin Roberts. A


Hammer and Nail Approach to Rebuilding
Young Lives: Florida’s Avon Park Youth
Academy and STREET Smart. Corrections
Today (ISSN 0190-2563, USPS 019-640)
Published by the American Correctional
Association., 4380 Forbes Blvd., Lanham,
MD 20706-4322, June 2002.

Burl Cain and Cathy Fontenot. Managing


Angola’s Long-Term Inmates. Corrections
Today (ISSN 0190-2563, USPS 019-640)
Published by the American Correctional
Association Inc., 4380 Forbes Blvd.,
Lanham, MD, August 2001.
Gail C. Arnall. Safety-Net: A 24-Hour
Educational Network for Correctional
Facilities. Corrections Today (ISSN 0190-
2563, USPS 019-640) Published by the
American Correctional Association Inc.,
4380 Forbes Blvd., Lanham, MD, July
2002.

253
Rehabilitation Bureau, Ministry of Justice,
Japan. The Community-Based Treatment
of Offenders System in Japan, 1999.

254
255

You might also like