Ambassador Lacanlale was referring to the Treaty on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons signed by the Philippines and Thailand. Under the treaty, nationals of both countries who are serving prison sentences in either country may request the concerned authorities (the Philippine Department of Justice or Thai Ministry of Justice, as the case may be) to be transferred to a Philippine or Thai prison where they will serve the remainder of their prison sentences. The said treaty was signed in 2002. Late this year, the governments of both countries finalized the implementing rules and regulations of the treaty.
As of December 2010, there are a total of fifty-six (56) Filipino inmates serving prison sentences in various Thai prisons. Twenty-three (23) of these cases are drug-related; 19 for theft, snatching and robbery; and the rest for fraud, human trafficking, rape, and possession of tampered passports or fake visa stamps.
Under the treaty, the transfer of sentenced persons from Thailand to the Philippines, or vice versa, is not automatic. The three-fold consent requires that the (1) requesting state, (2) requested state, and (3) sentenced person/prisoner all agree to the request for transfer.
