142 offenders released in N. Cotabato

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines - More than a hundred inmates in the provincial jail and other detention facilities in the province were exonerated Wednesday via the Enhanced Justice on Wheels (EJOW) program.

The release of 142 prisoners, many of them detained much longer than the terms they were to serve, was held at the provincial capitol in Kidapawan City.

The event was led by Thelma Bahia, deputy administrator of the Supreme Court.

Bahia said the continuing implementation of the judiciary’s EJOW program in North Cotabato is supported by the office of Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza.

The local government has ongoing special humanitarian programs meant to re-assimilate “pardonable offenders” into the mainstream for them to start life anew with ease and community support.

“We are thankful to the provincial government for all of its never ending support to our endeavors,” Bahia said.

The cases of the latest batch of local EJOW beneficiaries were litigated the previous months in a series of hearings presided over by judges sent by the Supreme Court and the resident judges in six courts in North Cotabato.

Two detainees were convicted for heinous crimes and will soon be endorsed to the Davao Penal Colony in Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte to serve prison terms. 

The EJOW judges also facilitated the amicable resolution of 15 out of 36 local cases submitted for mediation.

Bahia officiated Wednesday’s release of the detainees in the presence of their relatives and provincial administrator Van Cadungon, incumbent provincial board members Jomar Cerebo and Loreto Cabaya, Jr., and Jessie Enid, who is Mendoza’s chief legal affairs staff.

“EJOW aims to unclog dockets in courts and reduce the heavy population in district jails which are the two most common problems besetting the courts in the country,” Bahia told reporters.