29/05/2026
๐๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ญ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐๐
The Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC) and the Zamboanga City Justice Zone (ZCJZ) launched the Project MALAYA: The ZCJZ Coordinated Jail Visitation Program (Project MALAYA) on May 27, 2026, a quarterly initiative aimed at helping decongest jails by providing the persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) access to timely and effective legal services.
Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo, joined by Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justices Antonio T. Kho, Jr., and Maria Filomena D. Singh, led the Project MALAYA at the Jail Male Dormitory Sports Activity Area in Zamboanga City.
The program was organized by the ZCJZ, led by its Convenor, Executive Judge Gregorio V. Dela Peรฑa III, together with the judges and staff of the Regional Trial Court and Municipal Trial Court in Cities of Zamboanga City, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Office of the City Prosecutor, Public Attorneyโs Office, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, and law student practitioners from the Ateneo de Zamboanga and Western Mindanao State University.
Project MALAYA aims to significantly contribute to jail decongestion through structured legal visitations, rights-based education, and systematic case management. It fosters a holistic reformation and successful reintegration of PDLs through collaborative, multi-sectoral interventions among justice sector stakeholders.
Also present during the program were Chairperson of the JSCC TWG on Communications and Partnership Building Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Michael Frederick L. Musngi, SC Spokesperson Atty. Camille Sue Mae L. Ting, and Deputy Chief Justice Staff Head Atty. Antonio Ceasar R. Manila.
The JSCC launched the ZCJZ on February 23, 2023, as a Trafficking-Free Justice Zone.
The establishment of JZs is the flagship program of the JSCC, a coordinating body composed of the SC, the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government. The initiative seeks to improve coordination within the local justice sector and address delays and inefficiencies in handling criminal casesโfrom the filing of the complaint and case buildup to prosecution, adjudication, judgment, and post-judgment proceedings.
Read more at: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jscc-leads-project-malaya-in-zamboanga-city/
Credits: Supreme Court Office of the Spokesperson
๐ธ: Supreme Court PIO Communications Office and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology