The Philippines and Sri Lanka delegations concluded the negotiations of the Treaty on Transfer of Sentenced Persons Agreement (TTSP) and Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (MLAT).
The Department of Justice (DOJ) - Office of the Chief State Counsel (Legal Staff) hosted the negotiations in Manila from 12 to 13 of August 2024.
Transfer of Sentenced Persons allows citizens convicted of crimes in another country to serve their remaining sentence in their own countries. This will facilitate their effective rehabilitation, being close to their families and friends and be with other inmates with whom they share the same language, culture, customs and religion. Under the proposed TTSP, Filipino and Sri Lankan prisoners may be transferred to their respective countries to serve their remaining sentences.
Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (MLA) is the process by which a state conducting investigation or prosecution of criminal cases or related proceedings requests legal assistance from another state, the most common of which, includes obtaining evidence or taking voluntary statements from persons, confiscation or forfeiture of property or proceeds of crime. MLA requests are key to obtaining evidence and confiscating illegal proceeds of crime located outside the state where the crime was committed.
The Philippine Delegation was composed of Department of Justice officials Chief State Counsel Dennis Arvin L. Chan (Head), Assistant Chief State Counsel Mildred Bernadette B. Alvor, and State Counsels Leilani R. Fajardo-Aspiras, Florina C. Agtarap, Don Rick C. Ventura, and Chaveli Joan O. Labrador-Batoon, and Department of Foreign Affairs officials Acting Director Sheila Mae A. Briones and Atty. Ameroden Daudey B. Tago of the Office of Treaties and Legal Affairs, and Assistant Director Bojer B. Capati, Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs.
The Sri Lanka Delegation was composed of Attorney General Parinda Ranashinghe (JnR), P.C. (Head), Assistant Secretary Piyumanthi Peiris, Legal, Ministry of Justice, and Assistant Legal Adviser Sanjika Kammanankada, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.