To decongest jails in Metro Manila, the Public Attorney’s Office has resumed regular visitations at the Quezon City Jail Female Dormitory.
“Through this, our lawyers will be able to know who among these persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) do not have their own lawyers,” PAO chief Persida Acosta said.
PAO-QC chief Mark Oliver Asis assured Acosta that their public defenders would conduct regular visits as well as execute notarized manifestations to be presented in court.
“It is important that we should look into the well-being of our PDLs,” she said.
With help from the National Bureau of Investigation, led by Dr. Ruperto Sombilon, PAO recently spearheaded a medical, dental, optical, and legal missioin at the Quezon City Jail Female Dormitory.
“We brought along with us our nurses and two psychometricians,” Acosta said.
It is also important that one’s mental health is being looked into, she stressed.
She lamented many PDLS continue to languish in jail for absence of lawyers.