Press Release - Imee: Ibalik sa 'Pinas ang mga nakulong na Pinoy!

Senator Imee R. Marcos urged her fellow senators to concur in the ratification of a treaty between the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of Canada which will enable Filipino prisoners in that country to serve their sentence here at home.

"Sa gitna ng lahat ng pagkakasala at pagsubok, huwag natin kalimutan na may pagkakataon pa ang bawat nilalang na magbalik-loob at magkaroon ng bagong buhay. Maraming kababayan natin ang nakakulong sa ibang bansa, malayo sa kanilang pamilya at mga mahal sa buhay," the senator said Tuesday, August 20, in her sponsorship speech of Senate Resolution No. 1146.

She added, "Hindi lamang ito pisikal na pagdurusa, pasakit din ito sa kanilang mga isip at damdamin."

The 'Treaty Between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of Canada on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons and on Cooperation in the Enforcement of Penal Sentence' was signed on May 22, 2003, and ratified by the President on January 24, 2023.

It provides for the conditions and procedure by which a person sentenced in the territory of one State may be transferred to the territory of the other State of which he or she is a citizen in order to serve the sentence.

A sentenced person may be transferred when his or her case would constitute a criminal offense according to the law of the receiving State or would constitute a criminal offence if committed on its territory.

Marcos said an aspect of the penal system too often overlooked is the reintegration of former convicts into society.

She pointed out, reintegration back to Philippine society will prove difficult to a Filipino who is deported to his home country after having served his sentence abroad with no support system.

"While we cannot prescribe how or for how long other countries should punish Filipinos who break their laws, we can at least forge agreements that will give our countrymen imprisoned abroad a better chance of rehabilitation and reintegration back to society, back home here in the Philippines," Marcos said.

She added, "Ang Philippines-Canada Treaty on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons (TSPA) ay... isang sinag ng pag-asa para sa mga Pilipinong nakulong sa nabanggit na