PRESO, INC. MONTHLY ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT 01 NOVEMBER - 05 DECEMBER

For the month of November our flagship projects made significant headway towards providing paralegal support, avenues towards release, and pathways to reintegration for PDL. Our Community Bail Bond Program continues to help aid in obtaining early release for PDL while our Better Versions initiatives continues developing avenues towards re-socialization and reintegration of released PDL.

COMMUNITY BAIL BOND PROGRAM

What has been done:

Our Program Field Officers continued with their regular activities that included conducting weekly monitoring/home visits of successfully released participants, providing guidance and updating the steps they are taking towards becoming productive members of their communities.

As of December 5, there have been 527 individuals referred to our program coming from 24 city jail facilities, 2 provincial jail facilities, 17 police stations, 3 youth centers, 3 correctional facilities, and 3 national agencies. Of this number 267 had been interviewed. Of the interviewed, 155 had been successfully bailed out while another 55 had been released through other legal means.

More significantly, we have a total of 90 CBB Participants who have successfully graduated from the CBB Program. We consider participants as having successfully graduated from the Program after their cases have been closed, and at least another six months of monitoring have elapsed. Throughout this period, they must have shown to be responsible members of their community and can lead productive lives.

With their release, the government has now saved ₱ 5,964,830.00. This is computed by adding the amount budgeted per day (PhP70 for food) per PDL multiplied by the number of days since the day of the release from jail of every individual Participant. These savings will increase as days go by and as long as their cases are not terminated. For those whose cases are dismissed, served early or whose probation was approved, we expect a savings of least 60 days of non-incarceration.

Additionally, on top of the food savings by the government, these individuals are now back to the community and actively engaged in their livelihood- hence contributing to the economy. We minimized their exposure to the criminogenic jail environment leading to better reentry to the society as responsible members.

BETTER VERSIONS INITIATIVE

The BANDILA Aftercare Program at Manila City Jail Male Dormitory has continued to grow as a compassionate response to the needs of PDL preparing to return to society.

The month saw an increase of BANDILA applicants, newly released PDL from Batch 4 & 5 who visited the office seeking various forms of post-release assistance even as we conducted a dishwashing liquid skills training for Batch 5 still in detention.

We conducted counseling as well as home and community visits to the new applicants in preparation for interventions that would help them in the journey towards reintegration.

After careful assessment, four applicants were provided will capital loans for their microbusinesses that will hopefully aid in their path towards self reliance.

To date, 12 individuals and their families had directly benefited from BANDILA’s aftercare interventions; small in number, yet deeply intentional in impact.

With the full support of MCJ-MD's warden, Superintendent Michelle Bonto, The BANDILA Office transferred to its new location, still within the Carcel de Manila Multi-Purpose facility. The DILG's Undersecretary for Peace and Order, Serafin Barreto paid a visit to the office last October 30.

PRESO, INC. HIGHLIGHTS

In preparation for the possible implementation of the Community Bail Bond Program in Baguio City, we conducted an orientation session with our partners from St. Louis University Baguio.

We assisted one of our long-time supporter, Ms. Julie Cox, in conducting a jail visitation and feeding activity at the Calamba City Jail Satellite Treatment Center last December 5 as well as the Mary Help of Christians in conducted their jail visitation and feeding activity at Paranaque CJ M&F Dormitories last November 5.

An incident at the Malabon City Jail Male Dorm last November 6 resulting in the loss of a donated tablet, used for tele-hearing ang e-dalaw activities.

The PRESO, Inc. Board held its year-end meeting to discuss plans for the new year.

We likewise met with Ms. Ann Namoc of the Cagayan de Oro VIPS, our partner in implementing the CBB Program there.

PRESO, Inc. mourns the passing of our dear Ate Nita Silva Mangaser, who left us last December 5, 2025. Nita lived a life of quiet dignity - never loud, never seeking attention, but deeply present where it mattered most. For more than two decades, she walked with persons deprived of liberty, first as a lay volunteer in the Diocese of Novaliches and later as one of PRESO Inc.’s own. Her service was never just a task; it was a way of life rooted in compassion, patience, and love. She cared in the smallest, most human ways. Her absence has created a vacuum that feels impossible to fill, and a “why” that still lingers in our hearts. She will always be remembered, and never be forgotten.

As we forge ahead with our Community Bail Bond Program and Better Versions Initiatives, we continue to learn and re-learn approaches and procedures. And this is a welcome experience for us. We envision that more PDLs and CICLs would be assisted soon with their liberties restored, their dignity regained and that their lives are eventually rebuilt. We as a community have a significant role in all these. In the long run, support for our prisons and prisoners as a whole would benefit all of society in terms of lower rates of recidivism and increased sense of public safety. GOD IS ON OUR SIDE!