Tulfo Pushes PH-UK Treaty to Bring Jailed Filipinos Home: 'Our Duty of Care Doesn't End Because They Made a Mistake'

Senator Erwin Tulfo is pushing for the Senate's concurrence on a treaty between the Philippines and the United Kingdom that would allow sentenced Filipinos in British prisons to serve the rest of their time back home. He sponsored Senate Resolution No. 315 just five days after it was heard by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which he chairs.

'Human rights and the dignity of every person remain, whether they are inside or outside the prison bars,' Tulfo said in his sponsorship speech. 'Under our Constitution, the government's duty of care for a Filipino does not end simply because he or she made a mistake in another country.'

The senator was quick to clarify that the treaty is not a 'get out of jail free' card — it only allows for the transfer of where a Filipino serves their sentence. The original UK sentence would still be carried out, with the Department of Justice overseeing the orderly transfer of custody.

Tulfo described the core of the agreement as 'restorative justice.' He explained that when a Filipino is imprisoned abroad, they face more than just the loss of liberty — there are also barriers of language, culture, and the agonizing distance from family. 'A double hardship,' he called it.

Once ratified, sentenced Filipinos in the UK may be transferred upon securing the consent of both the British and Philippine governments, as well as the prisoner's own consent. 'Let us show our fellow citizens in the United Kingdom that they are not forgotten by their Motherland,' Tulfo said.

Source: Manila Bulletin