BJMP wants trial by teleconference for inmates

The country's penology bureau is working on a plan to convince the court to allow hearings by teleconference for inmates in various jail facilities nationwide to protect them from harm. Chief Superintendent Serafin Barretto Jr., chief of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-National Capital Region (BJMP-NCR), said this is also to avoid the possibility of the inmates escaping while en route to and from the venue of the hearing. “Once we adopt the new system, it will not only speed up the conduct of hearings and trials but also lessen the risks of escape and threats against their lives," Barretto said on Sunday at the Balitaan sa Tinapayan news forum in Sampaloc, Manila. Among the detainees considered as high risk is Andal Ampatuan Jr., a scion of the powerful Ampatuan clan who is facing multiple murder charges for the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao province. Agents from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had combined forces with the police to give security to Andal Jr. during the last two hearings of his case in Camp Crame, Quezon City. He is detained at the NBI compound in Manila. Barretto, during the forum, noted that bringing an inmate or inmates to the venue of the hearing is always risky. “The risk of securing the inmate’s life, especially those consider as high-risk prisoner, is always there from bringing him out of the prison, during the travel and while the court hearing is going on and escorting him back to the jail premises," he said. He said the system is practiced in other countries. “The teleconference hearings had been going on other countries for a long time and this system proves effective." Aside from safety purposes, having a hearing done through teleconference is also economical as it is cheaper than bringing the inmate or inmates to court and back. - KBK, GMANews.TV