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After spending two years in jail, Amelia Sario finally won her freedom.
She was acquitted of charges of human trafficking after being accused of engaging young women in prostitution.
The judge pronounced the decision in a custom-made bus used by the Supreme Court's Justice on Wheels program, which made its second stop in Cebu yesterday.
?I'm very happy. It's God-given,? said an emotional Sario in Cebuano after Regional Trial Court Judge Raphael Yrastorza of Branch 14 ruled on her case.
Sario was one of several inmates served by the program introduced by former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. in 2004.
Despite the humid weather, Sario and other inmates were all smiles as they waited for the judges to dispose of their cases.
The P8-million mobile court of the Supreme Court arrived in Cebu last Monday. It will be brought to the Cebu International Convention Center where a national convention for court employees is scheduled to be held.
It will then head to the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center before going to other towns in the province.
?We just want to extend the services of the courts. This is not to force judges to acquit the accused.This is done with legal basis,? said Deputy Court Administrator Nimfa Vilches yesterday.
Last year, 81 prisoners from Cebu City and Cebu province were released in court proceedings held on board the bus, the third highest number in the country after Albay with 84 freed inmates followed by Antipolo with 83 ex-detainees.
Vilches said the Justice on Wheels program aims to provide relief to inmates who served time in jail longer than their supposed penalty, and those whose cases can be settled in court.
The mobile court will continue to serve the Cebu area until July 8.
It is also used to provide medical and dental services to inmates as well as legal services offered by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).
Several RTC Cebu judges took turns holding trials on board the bus.
RTC Executive Judge Meinrado Paredes said the mobile courts were designed to bring the courts closer to the litigants and the inmates.
?The wheels of justice should not stop turning even if the mobile court is no longer here,? he said.
Regional Court Administrator Cresensio Tan said they hope to see ?multiple mobile courts? to help decongest the jails.
Cebu City jail warden Efren Nemeno said the jail is built to house 1,000 but the population already reached 2,000.
