Rooted in the goals of the BJMP’s J.A.I.L. Plan 2040, the BANDILA Program exemplifies the Bureau’s commitment to humane care, restorative justice, and the reintegration of PDL into the fabric of our communities. Through partnerships like this, freedom becomes more than release—it becomes transformation.

And yes, we must deal with the offenders. Not all are monsters. Some are first-time, low-risk individuals who may never offend again with proper intervention. Others are chronic, predatory, and must be kept away. A one-size-fits-all solution does not work. We need assessments. We need classifications. And we need evidence-based programs that address their behavior while safeguarding the community.

The UN has spoken. But our own people—judges who dismiss cases against the innocent, jail officers who treat inmates with dignity, parole officers who walk the extra mile—have spoken louder. These are the true Filipino heroes.

The slow trial process is not just inefficiency—it is cruelty by delay. Each postponement, each rescheduled hearing, each absent witness is a small knife twisted slowly into the gut of the accused. Judges know this. Prosecutors know this. Jail officers see this every day.

We need a law. We need legislation that recognizes that wrongful imprisonment—whether due to mistaken conviction or protracted trial detention—is a wound that deserves healing. That recognizes no one should be punished for being poor. That acknowledges the State has a moral debt to those it imprisons without cause.

Because if justice is something you have to pay for, then it is not justice. It’s a commodity. And if release comes only after extortion, then we’ve confused rehabilitation with racketeering.