The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) tapped the Junior Chamber International Philippines for the free legal assistance to inmates and reduce the congestion rate in prison.
Last month, the BJMP and the JCI signed the memorandum of agreement to launch the “Beyond Prison Walls’’ project.
“The BJMP will now give us the direction of what they really need. They are really asking for free legal assistance from JCI,” Disston Tan, JCI Philippines national executive vice president, said on Wednesday during Habi & Kape press conference.
The national partnership covers all facilities under BJMP and all JCI organizations in the Philippines.
Desi Marie Lucas, JCI regional vice president, said some of the inmates cannot afford to expedite their cases due to poverty. She is hoping that through this partnership, they can extend assistance to these inmates and ease congestion in jail facilities.
In the data given by BJMP XI spokesperson, Jail Insp. Edo Lobenia, the city jail has a total population of over 3,000 inmates with a 600% congestion rate.
Last Monday, the JCI Davao conducted Beyond Prison Wall area launching at the Davao City Jail in Barangay Ma-a. They also gave free legal counseling to 305 female inmates.
“We are not really lawyers but what we can do is since we are an organization and we have links, we can tap also other organizations that can help us,” Lucas added.
