Characterization of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at Tuao District Jail, Tuao, Cagayan

Tuao as a first class municipality in the Province of Cagayan has a district jail that caters to male and female Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) by virtue of Republic Act 6975 of 1990. PDLs are detainees who are incarcerated pending trial and/or final judgment. It includes all persons who are arrested, detained, imprisoned or otherwise under custody of government authorities. PDLs may be held in jails, prisons, detention centers, “lock‐ups”, hospitals, rehabilitation centers or elsewhere. This study was limited on the characterization of PDLS committed at the Tuao District Jail. A total of sixty four (64) PDLs were used as respondents of the study representing 100 percent of its total population. The researcher made used of a questionnaire to gather the needed data from the respondents. Interview was also conducted in order to verify some vague answers on the questionnaire. Findings of the study on age, most of the respondents are young with an age bracket of 37–48 years old, majority are males, married, and are members of the Roman Catholic, most reached and finished high school and during the commission of the crimes, many were self-employed. Most have committed crimes against persons, majority have been arraigned by the court, have attended 1–5 hearings, most have stayed in jail for three years one day and more. Furthermore, the circumstances identified were being an “alleged suspect”. It can be concluded that the profile of respondents, the classification of crimes charged against them, the circumstances that led to its commission must be given attention by the concerned agencies especially the five pillars of our criminal justice system in order to lessen the commission of crimes and to decongest jail population so that those who are found to be innocent can go back immediately to the community.