THE Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) has revived its jail visitation program which was put on hold because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta told The Manila Times on Sunday that she instructed all regional offices to start with the visitation program anew to provide legal aid to persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).
“We at the PAO started this program during the time of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and we have been continuously doing this until it was shelved due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said.
“But now that we have returned to normal, we decided to revive the program as we see its importance in providing all forms of assistance to PDLs including those who are candidates for release from detention,” Rueda-Acosta added.
To restart the program, the chief public attorney personally went to the Quezon City Jail Female Dormitory (QCJFD) last week, bringing with her teams of public lawyers as well as doctors and nurses who conducted free legal and medical missions.
“We see the importance of this program especially for PDLs who have been languishing in jails for reasons that their cases were not properly attended to due to legal problems and this is where PAO steps in,” Rueda-Acosta said.
She said the visitation program is part of the government’s jail decongestion campaign. Hundreds of PDLs have been released after their cases were reviewed by the Department of Justice and its attached offices including PAO and the Parole and Probation Administration.
“We have also the support from doctors from the National Bureau of Investigation and other government agencies and our lawyers who provide legal advice to the PDLs before they return to the community and their families,” the PAO chief said.
PAO-QC chief Mark Oliver Asis said that with the revitalized jail visitation program, they can talk to detainees face-to-face.
QCJFD assistant jail warden Senior Inspector Julius Palada thanked Persida-Acosta for personally attending to the needs of PDLs.