The Manila City Jail is calling for more paralegal officers to serve its male dormitory, which houses over 3,500 inmates, significantly exceeding its capacity.
According to Jail Superintendent Lino Soriano in a report by Super Radyo dzBB, only four paralegal officers are currently available to handle the 3,596 male persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), resulting in a ratio of 1 officer per 900 inmates. The ideal ratio, Soriano emphasized, should be 1 officer per 300 inmates.
Addressing Overcrowding and Legal Needs
The jail’s male dormitory operates at a 204% congestion rate, as its prescribed capacity is only 1,182 PDLs. Soriano noted that additional paralegal officers are critical to:
- Expediting case processing for inmates.
- Updating and maintaining records of inmates who have served the minimum sentence.
- Computing Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) to facilitate the timely release of qualified PDLs.
Recently, 102 inmates from the dormitory were released through GCTA ahead of Christmas.
A Call for Action
The addition of paralegal officers is part of the jail’s effort to improve living conditions and address the backlog in case processing, which impacts the timely release of eligible PDLs.