The prisoner
transfer
agreement has
languished in
red tape in the
Philippines
since it was
signed six years
ago.
transfer
agreement has
languished in
red tape in the
Philippines
since it was
signed six years
ago.
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Hopes dim for prisoner deal in GMA visit
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filglobe.com
filipino globe online edition
Implementing rules and regulations languishing in Manila
JOSE MARCELO HONG KONG
The coming presidential visit may be as good a time as any to tie up loose
ends on the prisoner transfer agreement with the Hong Kong government, but
consulate officials are not keeping their hopes up.
Six years after the pact was sealed by the Philippine Senate and the SAR’s
Executive Council, the Transfer of Sentenced Persons treaty has yet to be
enforced due to the absence of the implementing rules and regulations.
JOSE MARCELO HONG KONG
The coming presidential visit may be as good a time as any to tie up loose
ends on the prisoner transfer agreement with the Hong Kong government, but
consulate officials are not keeping their hopes up.
Six years after the pact was sealed by the Philippine Senate and the SAR’s
Executive Council, the Transfer of Sentenced Persons treaty has yet to be
enforced due to the absence of the implementing rules and regulations.
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Problem is,
nagtuturuan
talaga [ang
DOJ at ang
Senado] kung
sino sa kanila
ang dapat
gumawa ng
IRR
nagtuturuan
talaga [ang
DOJ at ang
Senado] kung
sino sa kanila
ang dapat
gumawa ng
IRR
And consulate officials see no tangible signs
that the guidelines, mothballed for so long at
the Department of Justice, will be drafted and
delivered in time for President Arroyo’s
scheduled arrival in the territory late this
month.
“The ball has long been in our court,” said
consul Vic Dimagiba, head of the consulate’s
legal division. “But there seems to be no
movement toward that.”
If there are plans to seal the deal in time for
the President’s visit, DOJ officials should be
hard at work months in advance trying to put
that the guidelines, mothballed for so long at
the Department of Justice, will be drafted and
delivered in time for President Arroyo’s
scheduled arrival in the territory late this
month.
“The ball has long been in our court,” said
consul Vic Dimagiba, head of the consulate’s
legal division. “But there seems to be no
movement toward that.”
If there are plans to seal the deal in time for
the President’s visit, DOJ officials should be
hard at work months in advance trying to put
the fine points of the implementing rules and regulations to bed, Dimagiba
said.
But checks done by the consulate over the past year, the last in November,
yielded negative results.
“We followed up the progress of the implementing rules and regulations late
last year, basically inquiring if there had been any developments. We sent it
both through the Department of Foreign Affairs Manila office, and directly to
the DOJ,” Dimagiba said.
“But Manila didn’t respond. In fact, the DOJ didn’t even acknowledge receipt of
the letters,” he added.
The TSP agreement allows Hong Kong and Philippine nationals to serve their
sentences in their respective countries. At least seven Filipinos imprisoned in
the SAR have expressed willingness to avail of the treaty when it was ratified
in June 2002.
But the DOJ, tasked by the Senate to draft the implementing guidelines, has
dragged its feet for so long that Veronica Coady, a convicted Filipino
businesswoman who was among the first to express a desire to avail of the
program, has completed her sentence and has since returned home.
The wife of another Filipino serving time for manslaughter at the Stanley
prison facility has opted to work as a domestic helper in the territory just to be
able to visit her husband regularly, consulate officials said.
“The problem is, nagtuturuan talaga [ang DOJ at ang Senado] kung sino ang
gagawa ng IRR. But the fact is, the Senate has directed the DOJ to come up
with these guidelines. Pero hanggang ngayon wala pa ring nangyayari,”
Dimagiba said.
said.
But checks done by the consulate over the past year, the last in November,
yielded negative results.
“We followed up the progress of the implementing rules and regulations late
last year, basically inquiring if there had been any developments. We sent it
both through the Department of Foreign Affairs Manila office, and directly to
the DOJ,” Dimagiba said.
“But Manila didn’t respond. In fact, the DOJ didn’t even acknowledge receipt of
the letters,” he added.
The TSP agreement allows Hong Kong and Philippine nationals to serve their
sentences in their respective countries. At least seven Filipinos imprisoned in
the SAR have expressed willingness to avail of the treaty when it was ratified
in June 2002.
But the DOJ, tasked by the Senate to draft the implementing guidelines, has
dragged its feet for so long that Veronica Coady, a convicted Filipino
businesswoman who was among the first to express a desire to avail of the
program, has completed her sentence and has since returned home.
The wife of another Filipino serving time for manslaughter at the Stanley
prison facility has opted to work as a domestic helper in the territory just to be
able to visit her husband regularly, consulate officials said.
“The problem is, nagtuturuan talaga [ang DOJ at ang Senado] kung sino ang
gagawa ng IRR. But the fact is, the Senate has directed the DOJ to come up
with these guidelines. Pero hanggang ngayon wala pa ring nangyayari,”
Dimagiba said.
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