OCA CIRCULAR NO. 112-2014, August 26, 2014

Acting on the letter of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) dated 28 March 2014 that “it has been the perennial report of (their)  Paralegal Officers that they find utmost difficulty in asking for court records and following up cases with many court personnel,” and pursuant  to the Resolution of the Court in A.M. No. 12-11-2-SC (Guidelines for Decongesting Holding Jails by Enforcing the Rights of Accused Persons to Bail and to Speedxj Trial), dated 18 March 2014, and took effect on 1 May 2014, which recognized the need “to effectively implement existing policies laid down by the Constitution, the laws, and the rules respecting the accused’s rights to bail and to speedy trial in the context of decongesting our detention jails and humanizing the conditions of detained persons pending the hearing of their cases,” all judges, clerks of court, and other concerned court personnel of all first and second level courts are ENJOINED to RECOGNIZE the BJMP Paralegal Program and its Paralegal Officers, “who are tasked to assist inmates, avail of legal modes of release, and conduct coordination (mechanisms) to help expedite the resolution of their pending cases,” for a speedier disposition of cases and decongestion of jails.

For strict compliance.

26 August 2014