Subject: CCFMD Lerio
Date: 06/28/22
The condition of the City Jail as of today has been described as heavily consistent, particularly in the paralegal area. The speaker declared that they are only a group of five, however, only 3 of them work under the Paralegal; and the remaining two remains to work for Liaison, and Admissions.
When asked about their challenges, it is identified that it is the inquiries of the PDLs about their cases. It is emphasized that they cannot identify a reason for the selectivity of the PDLs, the decision is to remain in the court, and the hardest part would be the time offender due to EQ and desi day.
The speaker also elaborated on the condition of being an EQ, when contact happens, the credibility of the service sentence from the date of conviction helps the counting mechanism to a condition wherein there is no rhetorical support to the service of sentence.
Therefore, the paralegal training helped the PDLs to acquire knowledge that can be applied in real-life settings. In particular, the speaker’s experience commended the updates that can be tracked to legal works which helped him/her to review the ideas he/she has. As he/she is in charge of direct and must join the program. The materials for the program are being kept by him/her to practice the essence of organized stuff to be able to share it with other inmates.
When asked about the number of releases under last year’s record, it is indeed higher than today due to the paralegal training. The speaker was highly appreciative of the assistance they received from the paralegal officers as their ideas are used to disseminate important information.
It is unbelievable to know that the speaker is not only a paralegal aide, but also a guidance counselor, and a e-lalaw in charts, which shows that a PDL can function as an ordinary individual inside a jail. The paralegal training bonded the PDLs through the ideas that they acquired and developed, the socialization and brainstorming that happened during their seminar resulted in new learnings that made so much easier access to study the process of handling PDLs, etc.
“To be honest, we cannot do it. We are not superman to handle different positions inside here since we are also doing multi-tasking—it is impossible. But with the help of a Paralegal Aide and TSMP Facilitator, we were still able to do it. Perhaps, with the help of God?”
With this line, perseverance is evident. The difficulty they encounter made the HLAF create solutions that would improve their minds to focus and the programs to be sustainable. And as they conduct programs like paralegal training, they have the means to discuss matters with the higher-ups that promote the betterment of the jail and the PDLs.
For instance, the scheduling of hearing appears to have a problem as the usage of devices and internet connection encountered shortage, where the personal laptop of the officers is being used to cater to the concerns of the PDLs. When asked for a specific number that a unit accommodates, out of hundreds of PDL, there are only 70 PDLs that can be catered to give 5 minutes to do e-dalaw, etc.
When it comes to medical needs, sometimes there is a medical mission for the PDLs to have their check-up to be done by the permitted professionals. Likewise, when it comes to auto-immune disease, there is also a check-up for those who experience it, and if authorized, they can be monitored by the City Jail for further tests if it gets severe. The HLAF also asked if there are any concerns from the PDLs, as HLAF will see if they can do check-ups on their volunteers. There is one PDL who said that he has an issue with his teeth, and he experiences sleepless nights due to the pain and aches it causes. Moreover, when it comes to necessities, their great concern is the supply of water and deodorant due to financial instability and no visit.
Lastly, if there is a celebration of holidays outside the jail, there is also a simple celebration for the PDLs to somehow cannot forget the essence of these holidays. As the speaker told in the interview, they collect their budget to form a simple gathering, in which they emphasized that, that is all they can give, to treat the PDLs as a family, as they do not have anyone inside.
