INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION OF THE ASIA CRIME PREVENTIONFOUNDATION (ACPF) AND THE CRIME PREVENTION PRACTITIONERSASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (CPPAP)FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Severino H. Gaña, Jr.*

It gives me great pleasure to congratulate the Asia Crime Prevention Foundation (ACPF) Chairman
Mikinao Kitada, ACPF Vice Chairman Terutoshi Yamashita,   ACPF Programme Management Bureau
Director Hiroyuki Yoshida, Members of the ACPF Board of Directors, Staff and Supporters of the ACPF onthe occasion of our milestone 40th Anniversary, as well as, to the United Nations Asia and Far East Institutefor the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI) Director Taro Morinaga, Deputy Director
Irie Junko, UNAFEI Professors and Staff on its 60th or Diamond year. My heart is happy with pride forhaving been a part of UNAFEI and ACPF’s productive years in the field of crime prevention and treatmentof offenders.
As mentioned in the introduction, I have been a Public Prosecutor of the Department of Justice in thePhilippines, for 35 years.  During that period, I handled many cases and endeavours, several of which I amvery proud of, related to international cooperation for the enhancement of criminal justice, such as:
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The development of the Philippines-Japan Halfway House in 1996;
Activation and Enhancement of Volunteer Probation Aides with the assistance of UNAFEI;The conviction of Kosumi Yoshimi in Japan for murder and arson;
The conviction of Chow On Park alias Haruhiko Arai in Japan for Abandonment of a Corpse;
The rescue of Filipino women trafficked in Malaysia and the eventual conviction of the accused
Singapore National Eugene Beng Hua Lim a.k.a Alfred Lim in Malaysia for Human Trafficking.

Some of you may wonder, “How did I, a humble public prosecutor in the Philippines, contribute to thesuccess of the above-mentioned projects and cases?”
It started about 31 years ago, when I graduated from UNAFEI’s 89th International Training Course withthe theme “Effective and Innovative Counter-Measures Against Economic Crimes”. Since then, I have been
invited to UNAFEI’s International Trainings and Seminars, as a visiting expert on various subject matterson Criminal Justice and subsequently at important events of ACPF.  My membership and involvement inACPF as one of its International Directors, is borne out of my association with UNAFEI. The bond goes longand is prolific.
At UNAFEI, I was able to discourse on important subject matters including that of transnational organizedcrimes, firearm regulation, human trafficking, whistle-blower security and protection, and criminal trials.  My
humble contributions to UNAFEI in the form of at least (10) presentation papers now form part of its
published resource materials.
In those thirty-one (31) years, I have certainly gained a great wealth of information and experience thathave moulded me into a more aware, concerned and passionate justice worker not only for my home country,
the Philippines, but for the community of nations as a whole.  I should say that UNAFEI played a big role inmoulding me into what I am now and for whatever I have contributed to my country, and to some extent,
to the international community.

* Attorney, Manila, Philippines.

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I. THE PHILIPPINES-JAPAN HALFWAY HOUSE (PJHH)
My membership in the ACPF is especially highlighted by my having met and associated with the theneminent Mr. Minoru Shikita, ACPF’s former Chairman that led to the creation of the first Halfway House inthe Philippines, the Philippines-Japan Halfway House (PJHH) in 1996, which was constructed inside theNational Bilibid Prison Reservation Compound in Muntinlupa City, Philippines. Japanese Architect Tadao
Ando, a Pritzker Awardee, also donated his services and designed the facility.  The PJHH is a cooperative
venture between the Philippines and Japan, made possible through the help of the Asia Crime Prevention
Foundation (ACPF) –Tokyo. The benevolence of the Asia Crime Prevention Foundation was coursed throughits Filipino sister organization the Crime Prevention Practitioners Association of the Philippines (CPPAP).
After the construction of the facility in 1996, the ACPF and the Nagoya West Lions Club continued to
donate resources and supported the implementation of programmes in the PJHH. Equipment, a vehicle andtools were acquired. Another 180-square-meter structure was built for the training and workshop andcompleted in November 2000 with funds provided by Nagoya West Lions Club, where regular training,workshops and vocational courses are being held.
Since 1997, the facility has been able to service 608 clients. Programmes and services include caseworkand counselling, productivity training, medical and health services, homelife services, skills training andvocational education and therapeutic community modality application modules.
For more than two decades now, the Philippines-Nagoya Japan Halfway House has served as a temporary
home for both pre-release and released prisoners where they receive support for their physical, social,spiritual, including economic growth. Its programmes prepare its clientele of reformed prisoners to bereintegrated into the society through counselling, skills training and job placement.

II. ACTIVATION AND ENHANCEMENT OF VOLUNTEER PROBATION AIDESWITH THE ASSISTANCE OF UNAFEIIn the Philippines, the treatment of offenders and individuals who are in conflict with the law is undertakenby the government through the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of the Interior and Local
Government (DILG), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).  Through the Boardof Pardons and Parole (BPP) and the Parole and Probation Administration (PPA), the DOJ formulates,
implements and monitors programmes and activities for offenders on probation and parole.  Enlistment andtraining of then Volunteer Probation Aides (VPAs) started in 1977, while the PPA was preparing for theoperationalization of the national probation programme. Towards 1980, the VPA programme dwindled fromaround 2,123 VPAs to only 100, due to budgetary limitations in the reimbursement of travelling expenses.
Providentially, Japan, through UNAFEI, came to their rescue.  Consistent with its objectives, UNAFEI
intensified and enhanced its training programme on the prevention of crimes and treatment of offenders.  
The Philippine-Japan Joint Seminar on “Enhancing Community Involvement in Crime Prevention “which washeld in Manila, in consultation with a visiting professor from UNAFEI, submitted to JICA a proposal on theproject “Revitalization of the VPA System in the Philippines”. Beginning in 2003, through the technical andfinancial assistance of UNAFEI, PPA revitalized its VPA system with due consideration of its past experience.  
Thereafter, UNAFEI through the facilities of JICA-Net, started a series of seminars involving Probation
Officers in the Philippines that were further developed in a project called The Holistic Approach in theTreatment and Rehabilitation of Offenders.  From then on, several trainings were conducted by UNAFEIand JICA in support of the project which lasted until 2010, benefitting hundreds of participants in thePhilippines.  The establishment of the local and national level VPA organizations is of vital importance forthe effective promotion, utilization and sustainability of the VPA programme. The vision is to have anempowered VPA organization that will eventually be able to function independently and provide for theirown needs.

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This remarkable initiative has revitalized Volunteer Probation Assistance (VPA) in the Philippines whichsignifies the indispensable role of Japan, with the cooperation of UNAFEI and ACPF, in the development ofsustainable treatment of offenders in the Philippines.

III. THE CPPAPThe Crime Prevention Practitioners Association of the Philippines (CPPAP) is a private association
established to institutionalize the involvement of the private sector in crime prevention in the Philippines andto act as a conduit for professional, technical and logistical assistance from the Asia Crime Prevention
Foundation (ACPF) in Tokyo. It was created upon the invitation of the ACPF-Tokyo to Philippine alumni ofUNAFEI in order to establish an ACPF affiliate in the Philippines.
One of the programmes of the CPPAP is the management of the Philippines-Japan Halfway House(PJHH). This programme is jointly being managed by the CPPAP with the Department of Justice throughthe Bureau of Corrections and the Probation and Parole Administration.

IV. OTHER CPPAP PROJECTS
Aside from the management of the PJHH, the ACPF and CPPAP have branched out to other projects toinclude providing regular donations to the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW). Through their
benevolence, hygiene kits (toiletries), basic medicines and vitamins were provided to senior clients of theCIW. The livelihood products of the CIW are also being sold during the month of March (women’s month) in
selected private and government offices.
In 2019, the ACPF and CPPAP intensified their partnership by branching out to different activities. On
March 22, 2019, twenty-six (26) members of ACPF visited the selected criminal justice agencies to further
assess the support they provide to persons deprived of liberty (PDL). It is noteworthy that most membersof the delegation were Volunteer Probation Officers (VPOs) in Japan who helped facilitate the rehabilitationof offenders as well as the acceptance of the offender by the community.  The group visited the Bureau ofCorrections, the National Police Commission, the Parole and Probation Administration and the Correctional
Institution for Women.
Currently, CPPAP and ACPF are conducting joint programme enhancement to heighten awareness incrime prevention, crime reporting and enhancing coordination with government authorities.  To kick off theproject, CPPAP and ACPF started the Crime Prevention Seminar for Japanese Businessmen in the Philippines
which was conducted in cooperation with the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines(TJCCIP).

V. THE KYOTO CONGRESS
It is with great honour and pleasure to recount that I was able to participate in the On-Line Ancillary
Meeting during the 14th UN Criminal Justice (The Kyoto Congress) held in March 2021.  This was madepossible through the kind invitation of ACPF and UNAFEI wherein I reported “The Impact of International
Training Courses and Seminars in UNAFEI for the Promotion of Rule of Law in Participating Countries”.
The said Kyoto Congress adopted a “Declaration on Advancing Crime Prevention, Criminal Justice andthe Rule of Law: Towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  Sections 10and 12 of the said Declaration, acknowledge the significance of the cooperation of the NGOs to enhance
multidisciplinary efforts to prevent and combat crime, as well as through the provision of technical assistanceand capacity-building in crime prevention and criminal justice.

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Consistent with the 2021 Kyoto Declaration, the CPPAP and ACPF undertake to further enhance its
programme by providing and organizing trainings, seminars, workshops and conferences related to advancing
crime prevention, criminal justice and the rule of law through the cooperation and coordination between law
enforcement and other criminal justice institutions, and other governmental sectors, as well as to support
their work, by engaging in and fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships with the private sector, civil society,academia and the scientific community, and with other relevant stakeholders as appropriate.

VI. JICAOne of the biggest and major strategic development partners of the Philippines is the Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) whose work in our country spans more than six decades of promoting economic
growth, supporting socio-economic development, recovery or economic stability and addressing internationalchallenges including achieving human security. The significance of the partnership is anchored on collaborationand cooperation under shared universal values including freedom, democracy, the rule of law, respect forbasic human rights, and a free and open economy.  In every challenge and issue faced by the Philippines,“JICA is always there to support and assist us”.  In fact, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, JICA
was one of the leading organizations that helped the Philippines through its comprehensive assistance andholistic approach to fight the pandemic.  JICA has also provided many opportunities to Filipinos to further
their learning and development through trainings or study opportunities in Japan. Its training programme
for young leaders benefited some 3,000 Filipinos over the years and, it is noteworthy to mention that JICA
has provided support and assistance that paved the way to the attendance of more 330 Filipino participants
to UNAFEI’s courses.  For this, my deepest and heartfelt gratitude to JICA.

VII. ACTUAL APPLICATION OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
UNAFEI has not only served as a hub for learning, it has created a formidable network for the promotionof cooperation among members of the United Nations, especially among developing countries in the Asia andPacific region.
In the case of the Philippines and Japan, for instance, these countries have yet to have an extradition ormutual legal assistance treaty.  However, the absence of this formal agreement has not prevented us, thePhilippines, from lending our needed cooperation on matters that involve enforcement of the law in Japan.  
I, for one, can attest to several instances in the past where I, in my capacity as an official of the Departmentof Justice, rendered assistance to the Government of Japan in some investigations being conducted in Japan
but where witnesses and some forms of evidence were in the Philippines and must be secured in order tohelp in the investigation. Let me cite three (3) actual cross-border cases I personally handled:
A. Kosumi Yoshimi Case
This is a criminal case of a Japanese son who had his father killed for insurance purposes.  He conspiredwith three Filipinos in Japan.  The incident happened in Nagoya-shi, Japan.  The Japanese son together withthe three Filipinos helped each other to kill and burn his father and his house.   One Filipino fled to thePhilippines.  Japanese Prosecutor Hama of Nagoya requested me to interview and take the written statementof the Filipino who fled to the Philippines to clarify some discrepancies, which I did in Prosecutor Hama’spresence in the Philippines. At the conclusion of the trial proceedings in their cases, all three accused werefound guilty for the murder of the Japanese father and arson for burning his house.  The son was sentenced
to life imprisonment and the two Filipinos were sentenced for fifteen years with labour.
B. The Case of Chow On Park, alias Haruhiko Arai
This is a case of a Japanese man who shot and killed another Japanese man. His cohort placed the corpse
at the back of a vehicle and drove it to a parking lot in Osaka and left it there.  For having done that, he waspaid 30 million yen. He instructed his Filipina wife to bring the money to the Philippines.  She kept the money
inside safe deposit boxes in two Philippine banks.  The Chief Prosecutor of Osaka requested assistance forthe recovery of the money and dispatched two Japanese prosecutors to the Philippines. I sought the assistance12

VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERSof our law enforcement to locate the Filipina wife and we succeeded.  I convinced the wife to return themoney, and I personally turned over the money to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs to be sent
back to Japan.  The money was finally used as evidence in connection with the pending criminal proceedings
in Osaka, and Haruhiko Arai was eventually convicted and sentenced to suffer imprisonment for the crimeof Abandonment of a Corpse that he had committed.
C. The Case of Singapore National Eugene Beng Hua Lim, alias Alfred LimOn 30 June 2008, Marilyn Bagsit and Marilou Capistrano escaped from Eugene Beng Hua Lim a.k.a Alfred
Lim agency office after enduring abuse and maltreatment.  They asked the Philippine Embassy in Kuala
Lumpur for assistance, and they were referred to the Department of Justice.  Being the Chairman of the
Human Trafficking Task Force, their case was assigned to me by our Secretary of Justice.  I immediatelycontacted my good friend, whom I met in one of UNAFEI’s training courses, then the Head of the Royal
Malaysian Police, Police Inspector General Tan Sri Dato Musa Bin Hassan and also an officer of ACPF
Malaysia.  He acceded to my request for legal assistance, and I brought the two victims of human trafficking
to his office in Kuala Lumpur.  After hearing the testimonies of the victims, he immediately ordered thearrest of the said suspect.  Malaysia’s Attorney General’s Chambers filed a criminal case against Lim in July2009.
I personally brought the two victims to Kuala Lumpur during scheduled hearings.  The High Court inKuala Lumpur convicted Eugene Beng Hua Lim a.k.a Alfred Lim on two counts of human trafficking andsentenced him to 3 years of imprisonment for each count.   I have also rescued three victims of humantrafficking in Labuan, Malaysia, and one victim in Sabah through the cooperation of the Royal Malaysian
Police Officials.
Ladies and Gentlemen, UNAFEI training courses and seminars that involve the participation of justiceworkers of diverse backgrounds, cultures and practices, are not only venues of discourse, learning, informationexchange and international cooperation.   They are in themselves powerful and effective occasions that
promote and strengthen the rule of law not only in Asia but the world over.   They not only capacitate
participants in their distinct functions in the justice system but also inspire and motivate them to become
better, if not the best, in their fields.  The challenging times ahead in terms of crime prevention and solution
demand that international cooperation and exchanges among countries, governments and civil or nongovernmental organizations are sustained.  For this reason alone, UNAFEI, with the support of ACPF, hasbeen as worthwhile an undertaking as it is worth keeping.

VIII. CLOSING STATEMENT
In closing, let me assure you that CPPAP and your friends from the Philippines wish to convey thewarmest felicitations and greetings for ACPF’s and UNAFEI’s anniversary celebrations. You will continue
to be our avowed and treasured friends, and we would like to think that this celebration pays homage to thepromotion of peace, friendship and good-neighbourhood. This occasion makes us realize that our areas ofcooperation are beyond that of trade, commerce and economics. More importantly, we are exploring a longand binding partnership for the promotion of more humane treatment of offenders in both our beloved
countries – Japan and the Philippines.
We are particularly appreciative of the continued support extended by the ACPF, particularly ACPF
Nagoya, for the operation of the Philippines-Japan Halfway House and all the other projects for therehabilitation of offenders. In all sincerity, we in the Philippines are so happy that the Japanese people havecontributed towards enhancing the quality of life of our less fortunate members of society.   We want toassure you that your effort has provided us with so much inspiration. We hope to see more of your kind in
this world and pray that warm-hearted people like you have long and fruitful lives.
Lastly, collaboration among nations requires treaties and/or bilateral agreements such as extradition andmutual legal assistance.   For those of you who are familiar with foreign relations, you know that theseprocesses are costly and tedious.  The institutions such as UNAFEI and JICA, and ACPF, a UN NGO in
general consultative status with ECOSOC, are the silent facilitators for forging sustainable relationships
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between nations.   They are the cornerstones of partnership between countries, a bridge to cross-borderrelations, and a seed in which international cooperation blossoms.
For this, please accept our sincerest appreciation and thank you for inviting me to celebrate with you.
This occasion will remain in my heart along with the treasures of my memories.   Let me reiterate ourgratitude to ACPF Chairman Mikinao Kitada for showing interest and concern to CPPAP in particular andto the Philippines in general.

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