In the Name of Justice

A Reaction Paper to the Forum and to the Ideas Discussed

--Christian Andro N. Madrogaba
BS ARCHITECTURE
PAPER 02 | ARCH 159 MLV SANTOS

In the Name of Justice is a forum that discussed some of the most pressing
problems and issues that are existing in our correctional, reformation, and justice
system--in general. It was participated by Jail Superintendent Renaldo Senoc,
Judge Teodoro Bary, and Raymund Narag, a professor and a former inmate. All of
them provided interesting points of discussion.

The Justice System in a Nutshell

The Philippine Justice system is comprised of five pillars, law enforcement,
prosecution,

judicial,

correction,

and

(integration/reintegration

into)

the

community. All of these pillars shall work altogether to properly handle possible
criminal offenders. A slight smear into the system may then cause unwanted
effects and issues to the society.
Meanwhile, from a more specific perspective, the Bureau of Jail
Management and Penology or BJMP is one of the most important agencies that
keep the system in shape. Their mission as quoted is: enchance public safety by
providing humane safekeeping and development of inmates n all district, city, and
municipal halls.

Furthermore, they are guided by the following objectives: (1) improve living
conditions of offenders, (2) enhance their rehabilitation, and (3) professionalize jail
service. All of which are implemented using a system set of programs, and policies.

The Issues and Concerns in the System

However, the structure isnt as stark, and simple as it appears to be. The
BJMP, in itself, has seen emerging issues that challenges existing policies and
presses their resources.
One, the population in their facilities has been steadily increasing. The
variance between the ideal and the actual number of inmates is strikingly huge,
implying a nationwide rate of congestion of around 390.73%.
Inadequate resources has been a major cause of concern. There has been
a very palpable lack in terms of manpower, logistical support, and funds. As of
August 2015, there are around 92, 654 inmates but only 11,200 personnel. This
indicates a custodial ration of 1:48 or 1 jail officer for every 48 inmates per shift, this
way far from the idea ratio which is 1:7.
The quality of the facilities are not that much of a help. Most of them create
environments that are not ideal for habitation. Putting the inmates health at risk.

The Trends and What They May Mean

The trends of the inmates coming in and out of the correctional facilities
also seem to convey an important message. For instance, as of 13 October 2015,
77.52% of the indexed crimes are drug-related, indicating a possible socioeconomic root cause (i.e. the offender needing the money from the drug sale).

Aside from, a large portion of the inmates have a relatively lower

educational attainment. More than half of them, did not go to college while some
did not even reach high school. More alarmingly, most of the offenders are
between 18-32 years of age.
Ultimately, these trends may indicate the need to reevaluate not only the
justice system per se but the society in itself. As what the trends show, the lack
intervention from important sectors the society seem to have a relationship with
the existence of criminal offenders.

Structuralism within the Facility

The formation of social codes and structures within the facilities also evoke
interesting points. For instance, some inmates resorts to so-called kubols or cubicles
as their own way of solving the density inside the correctional facilities. This exhibit
diskarte on the side of inmates but also highlights and puts even more emphasis
on the problem of congestion within these kinds of facilities.
Code switching has also been quite prevalent. Officials and employees
tend to freeze some policies to reward good behavior or for humanitarian reasons.
However, this is also problematic since there is a tendency of getting money
involve. Those who have the capacity to employees would tend to get more
favora hu-money-taria consideration, as how Professor Narag put it.

Seeking Proper Response to the Looming Issues

Intervention and actions from scholars, policy-makers, experts, and other
members of the community are definitely needed.

Lawyers, for instance, need to aid into the progressive adjudication of the
inmates. This would effective lessen the congestion in correctional facilitiesnot to
say, it is more ethical (especially, to those who are innocent).
Architects may help in the design of local jails. Some methods in optimizing
spaces and may actually aid into developing facilities that are much more
effective than the old ones.
Administrators and policy-makers may reinvent existing rules and
regulations and management paradigms to improve the quality of environments
and of the system per se.
In general, each one of us could play a vital role in keeping the judicial
system effective. Each one can take a step further to change something small and
contribute to a drastic improvement.