'Justice on Wheels' mobile court frees 25 QC inmates

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court's mobile court called Justice on Wheels (JOW) on Saturday released 25 inmates from the Quezon City Jail, radio DZBB reported. The report said that in the absence of Chief Justice Reynato Puno, Regional Trial Court Judge Thelma A. Ponferrada presided over the activities of the JOW program. JOW also gave medical and dental services to 200 others in the Quezon City Jail. The mobile court, which has become a vehicle for justice, is the centerpiece of the Court's Increasing Access to Justice by the Poor Program. Reporter Tuesday Tavares said one of the aims of the JOW program is to relieve the worsening problem of overcrowding in Philippine jails. She said the QC Jail currently houses 2,800 inmates although its holding capacity should only be 100. For the past weeks, several inmates from jails have been released following hearings conducted inside the JOW mobile court. The criminal cases against those inmates were provisionally dismissed for failure of the prosecution to present its witnesses. Last August 4, as many as 39 inmates from the Caloocan City Jail were released because of the hearings held inside the JOW mobile court. On July 9 and 25, four inmates from the Manila City Jail and five from the Manila Youth Reception Center; and seven inmates, including a female detainee, from the MCJ were released following hearings inside the JOW mobile court. On Friday morning, four inmates from the MCJ were released after hearings held inside the mobile court. Earlier in July, the mobile court also recently visited Kalibo in Aklan province to hear pending cases following the destruction of the Kalibo Hall of Justice. The mobile court, which is under the Committee on the JOW Project chaired by Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, with newly appointed Deputy Court Administrator Nimfa C. Viches as vice chairperson, is set to visit Cebu and Davao. - Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV