Tulfo Pushes Senate to Approve PH-UK Treaty That Would Let Jailed Filipinos in Britain Serve Sentences Back Home

Senator Erwin Tulfo is pushing for the Senate to ratify a treaty with the United Kingdom that would allow sentenced Filipinos in British prisons to be transferred back to the Philippines to serve the remainder of their sentences closer to home.

Tulfo sponsored Senate Resolution No. 315 to the plenary just five days after it cleared 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,' he said in his sponsorship speech.

The senator emphasized this is not a 'get out of jail free' card — it's simply an agreement to transfer the venue where the Filipino will serve their sentence. The transfer requires the consent of both the British and Philippine governments, as well as the prisoner themselves.

'When a Filipino is imprisoned in a foreign land like the United Kingdom, they face more than just the loss of liberty. Aside from prison, there are also the walls of language and the distance from family. A double hardship,' Tulfo explained, framing the treaty as an act of restorative justice.

Under the agreement, the sentence imposed in the UK would continue to be enforced in the Philippines, with the Department of Justice overseeing the safe transfer of custody. 'Let us show our fellow citizens in the United Kingdom that they are not forgotten by their Motherland,' Tulfo urged his colleagues.

Source: Manila Bulletin