60 freed by 'Justice on Wheels' in Vizcaya

BAYOMBONG, Philippines – Some 60 inmates at the provincial jail in the northern province of Nueva Vizcaya have been granted provisional liberty, courtesy of the Supreme Court’s mobile court program. Justice Reynato S. Puno and Justice on Wheels (JOW) Chairperson Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago led other members of the provincial judiciary to hear mediations and resolution of pending cases docketed at the provincial branches of Regional Trial Courts last weekened.

The program was conceptualized in 2007 and launched in Manila last year after the Supreme Court called for a forum to tackle the issue of access to justice by the under privileged sector of society and as its answer to criticisms that justice is “slow" and only for the rich.

The JOW mobile court has already tallied thousands of resolved cases since its first bus rolled off to visit key cities and towns across the country since last year.

Before arriving in Nueva Vizcaya, Puno said the mobile court has also given provisional liberty to some 500 detainees from Nueva Ecija via swift mediation procedures.

Puno said they visit many areas unmindful of the weather conditions or peace and order situations, even on Saturdays, for them to fulfill the mandate they are bound to perform.

“Restorative Justice is our new philosophy. The prisoners should not be in jail to suffer from what the powers of our justice system can inflict on them but to prepare them for their imminent return to mainstream society," he said.

In one instance, Puno visited the Women and Minors Correction Facility in the province and discovered that minors with petty cases have been languishing in jail for more than six months.

The JOW Program was conceptualized to decongest the dockets in the country’s jails and courts and to counter the perplexities within the system wherein through the years, a growing number of poor litigants have complained of no access to justice. - GMANews.TV