THE Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) on Monday lauded the importance of a partnership with the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to help persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) return to normal life.
PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta graced the joint flag ceremony with officials and personnel of BJMP’s National Jail Management and Penology Training Institute (NJMPTI) in Camp Vicente Lim in Calamba City, Laguna as the guest of honor and speaker.
She told NJMPTI director Senior Supt. Ronaldo Senior that the key role of the jail personnel’s training school is contributing to the interest and well-being of PDLs.
“This institute is the vital instrument in honing jail officers who do not only serve as custodians of PDLs but as rehabilitation officers at the same time,” she said.
While the jail officers should ensure the safety of PDLs while in their custody as mandated by law, “they must be the first to rejoice when they know that a PDL is freed to return to normal life,” she noted.
“Now, we could refer to them as persons deserving of liberty,” she maintained.
The long-term partnership of PAO and BJMP led to the release of 87, 656 PDLs in 2023, the PAO chief said.
The statistical data are significant for PAO since “they represent people, real people with names, faces and lives to live,” she added.
“I thank this opportunity as a vital link to what we could possibly do together in the future for the interest of the people that we both serve,” she said.