Twenty-one persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) were released last July 14 from the Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF) in Davao del Norte.
In a statement, DPPF said that of those released 14 were freed upon the expiration of their prison terms, five on parole and two on acquittal of their criminal charges.
It said the released PDLs “were all given gratuity and transportation allowance.”
It also said: “The Davao Prison and Penal Farm under the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) is taking concrete measures to decongest our prisons such as improving and putting up more penal facilities and fast-tracking the release of qualified PDLs.”
Last June 25, a total of 15 PDLs was freed from DPPF. From January 1 to May 31, 2022, DPPF had released a total of 392 qualified PDLs.
Earlier, BuCor had called on government agencies and private business owners to employ released PDLs for them to re-start their lives and be productive members of society.
The call was aired as BuCor released 99 more qualified PDLs from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City last July 15.
BuCor said that PDLs in its seven prison facilities nationwide undergo trainings and seminars on various livelihood programs while in detention and lectures to avoid committing criminal offenses.
It also stressed that BuCor’s External Affairs Section (EAS) and Directorate for External Relations (DER) have been reaching out to various government agencies and private business owners to help those released to re-start their lives and be accepted in society.