[Pinoy Criminology] Detention without conviction: Time for urgent review of cases

[Lee]

In my recent visit to two jails in the Philippines, I encountered two stories that reveal the quiet violence of delay. In both the Mandaluyong City Jail, managed by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and in the Bulacan Provincial Jail, directly under the supervision of the provincial government, the longest staying persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) have been detained for 15 years. One is accused of murder; the other, of rape.

Fifteen years.

The wardens in both facilities were professional, humane, and deeply committed to the welfare of those under their custody. They try to provide the best accommodations possible within severely constrained conditions. They facilitate access to education, ensure that detainees receive medical attention, coordinate with courts, and assist in documentation requirements that are often labyrinthine in the Philippine justice system.

In many ways, jail officers have become social workers, guidance counselors, paralegals, and program coordinators, all rolled into one. They do their part in a system that frequently does not do its part for them.

Yet one cannot simply let go of the fact that these PDLs — what I call cases of extreme importance — remain largely invisible to the institutions tasked to deliver justice.

They are not convicted. They have not been found guilty beyond reasonable doubt. And yet they have lived inside jail walls for a decade and a half.

The Mandaluyong PDL has tried to transform confinement into opportunity. He completed his high school education while in detention. He is now enrolled in a college program. He participates in religious and educational activities, and has become a model detainee. The jail warden computed his Good Conduct Time Allowance or GCTA under Republic Act 10592, as well as his Time Allowance for Studying, Teaching and Mentoring or TASTM. His accumulated credit is approximately 17 years. Combined with the 15 years he has actually spent in detention, he has effectively served the equivalent of 32 years.

Even if he were eventually convicted of reclusion perpetua, which carries a penalty of 20 years and 1 day to 40 years under the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, he would already be eligible for commutation of sentence and parole under ordinary circumstances.

Yet he remains detained — not as a convicted prisoner, but as an accused awaiting judgment.

This is the cruel paradox of prolonged pre-trial detention: the punishment is fully experienced even before guilt is determined.

In many of my previous works on prolonged trial detention and jail congestion, I have argued that delay is not merely an administrative inconvenience. It is a structural feature of the Philippine criminal justice system. The problem is not simply that courts are slow; it is that the entire system is configured in a way that allows delay to flourish.

Consider the empirical reality. Philippine jails have long operated beyond capacity. Data from the BJMP consistently show congestion levels exceeding 286%, with some facilities exceeding 500% and even 1,000% congestion levels in extreme cases. Many detainees sleep in shifts. Personal space becomes a mathematical impossibility. Health risks increase. Violence becomes more likely. Rehabilitation programming becomes more difficult to implement.

Congestion is often framed as a problem of infrastructure. Build more jails, we are told. Expand facilities. Increase bed capacity.

But congestion is fundamentally a problem of time.

The average length of pre-trial detention in many Metro Manila facilities has been estimated at 528 days, but averages conceal the outliers — those detained for five years, ten years, fifteen years, and in rare cases, more than twenty years. Two years ago, a PDL detained in Metro Manila for a violent extremism case stayed in detention for 24 years before eventually being declared not guilty by the court. Twenty-four years of life taken without conviction. Twenty-four years that cannot be returned.

When detention extends beyond the likely sentence for the offense, the presumption of innocence becomes a legal fiction.

The Supreme Court of the Philippines has recognized the gravity of the problem. It convened two National Jail and Prison Decongestion Summits, bringing together judges, prosecutors, jail officers, public attorneys, and policymakers. Everyone agrees that delay undermines justice. Everyone acknowledges that prolonged detention erodes trust in the legal system. Everyone recognizes that congestion cannot be solved without addressing delay.

And, yet, the cases continue.

 

https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/pinoy-criminology-prolonged-detention-without-conviction-urgent-review-cases/

[scott h]

[MotorSarge]

1 hour ago, Lee said:

Two years ago, a PDL detained in Metro Manila for a violent extremism case stayed in detention for 24 years before eventually being declared not guilty by the court. Twenty-four years of life taken without conviction. Twenty-four years that cannot be returned.

PSA:

For you ignorant nasty foreigners and other rotting apples on the ground.

Rice & Fish Heads will become your full-time staple in the PI penal system, unless you got very good retirement monies, you then maybe will get Baluit.

Inquire with the American "Barry Lee Jordan" hitting his 3rd year locked up abroad anniversary for violating multiple articles of PI law.

[baronapart]

To be honest I stopped reading at "Person Deprived of Liberty." You already know which way the author is slanted.

[Possum]

Person Deprived of Liberty is how prisoners are described by judges, police and other legal authorities in the Philippines. The author was using the correct terminology 

[BrettGC]

I wonder how many on this forum would react if they were deprived of due process. 

Edited April 6 by BrettGC

[scott h]

15 minutes ago, BrettGC said:

I wonder how many on this forum would react if they were deprived of due process.

With righteous indignation of course. 

 

[Mike J]

24 minutes ago, BrettGC said:

I wonder how many on this forum would react if they were deprived of due process. 

Anger, disbelief, despair, anxiety depression, etc.  Not really sure. 

[scott h]

52 minutes ago, BrettGC said:

I wonder how many on this forum would react if they were deprived of due process. 

One a serious note:

If I was guilty, I would say "Ah poop, I done screwed up big time "

If I was innocent, I would call my little brother who works at the American Embassy in Mexico City, have him call someone at the Embassy here and pull some strings.................If the locals can do it, why not me! .

On second thought, I would call my brother either way 

Edited April 6 by scott h

[Possum]

9 minutes ago, scott h said:

One a serious note:

If I was guilty, I would say "Ah poop, I done screwed up big time "

If I was innocent, I would call my little brother who works at the American Embassy in Mexico City, have him call someone at the Embassy here and pull some strings.................If the locals can do it, why not me! .

On second thought, I would call my brother either way 

We had a Senator call the US embassy in S. Korea about an employee charged there. All they did was give us a list of recommended attorneys. Their  country their laws. His problem. We hired a former judge they recommended who got the guy out of jail and deported after 6 months and 50000 dollars. I visited the jail and it wasn't that bad. 🙂