Proposed writ of kalayaan under review – SC chief

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CHIEF Justice Alexander Gesmundo said the proposed writ of kalayaan which has the potential to rectify the confinement in jails and humane treatment of inmates is undergoing review.

Gesmundo, in his address Monday during the 2nd anniversary of the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027, said the new writ “is proposed to help address the substandard or inadequate conditions of detention centers, jails, prisons, and other confinement facilities.”

“For this, key agencies from the justice sector such as the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, the Bureau of Corrections, Department of Justice, among others, were invited to submit their comments on the initial draft rules on the writ. The revised draft is now pending with the Court,” he said.

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In December 19, 2022, the Supreme Court’s panel on human rights recommended the approval of the writ of kalayaan to bolster the protection of basic human rights in the country and address the perennial problem on jail congestion in the country.

“The writ of kalayaan is an extraordinary remedy for persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) created through the Court’s constitutional power to promulgate rules protecting and enforcing our fundamental rights,” Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen has said earlier this year.

“It intends to protect the PDLs’ right to life, right to health, and right against cruel, degrading, and inhuman punishment. It aims to rectify the conditions of confinement and address not only the congestion of facilities but any issue that frustrates the inherent dignity and humane treatment of PDLs,” he also said.

The New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa and six other operating prison and penal farms of the BuCor hold over 52,000 inmates, although their total capacity is only around 12,000, or an average congestion rate of 231 percent.

The national penitentiary holds over 28,000 inmates, a far cry from its original capacity of 9,885 when it was built.

To address the congestion, the DOJ, the mother agency of BuCor, instituted a decongestion program in 2022, particularly at the NBP.

Aside from the writ of kalayaan, Gesmundo said the SC has also taken the preliminary steps to review and amend the writs of habeas corpus, amparo and data to make them more responsive to contemporary issues.

“A technical working group will be convened in the first quarter of 2025 to finalize the amendments before submission to the Court en banc,” he said.

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