Freedom and Death Inside the Jail.pdf - The Action Program for ...

600 to 750 inmates are scheduled for hearing. This means that,
on a daily basis, 200 to 250 inmates have to be brought to and
from the court. Quezon City Jail, however, only has 100 serviceable
handcuffs.
Transportation is another problem for escort officers. For transporting
the 250 inmates to and from the court, Quezon City Jail
only has an old minibus and a van to use. Both vehicles make
two trips to the court to transport all 250 inmates in time for the
hearings. When both vehicles bog down, Quezon City Jail either
borrows a vehicle from the BJMP Regional Office or hires a jeepney.
Borrowing transportation from the Regional Office may take days,
while hiring a jeepney costs the Jail a fortune. Since the jeepney
can accommodate 30-35 inmates only, the Jail will have to hire 7
jeepneys. One jeepney can be hired for about P700, which means
Quezon City Jail will have to fork over as much as P4,900 and that
is for bringing inmates to the court alone. It will have to shell out
another P4,900 to bring them back to Jail.
Even more alarming, perhaps, is that an estimated 20% to 30%
of jail officers are not issued firearms. When escorting inmates,
they have to borrow from one another. This practice is quite risky
because in case a certain firearm is lost or used in a shootout, accidentally
or intentionally, the officer to whom the firearm was
issued will be made to answer for it. Other officers, to avoid such
complications, buy their own guns and request a memorandum
receipt and mission order later on.
Paralegal Officers
Firewood: The Root Causes of Problems
Paralegal officers monitor the cases of inmates - from keeping
records to updating hearing schedules to following up the issuance
of release papers.
A Paralegal Officer conducting
a seminar on inmates’ rights.
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