A total of 357 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) was released from six prison facilities of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) on Wednesday, Oct. 26.
At the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City, the release of the PDLs was witnessed personally by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla who assured that inmates qualified for release will be freed every month.
“Ang ating goal po dito ay talagang ilabas na lahat na dapat ilalabas na hindi dapat nakakulong (Our goal is to release all those who are not supposed to be in prison),” Remulla said.
“Ito po ay ating gagampanan sa abot ng ating makakaya (We will do this in the best of our abilities),” he assured.
The release of the PDLs coincided with the celebration of the 28th National Correctional Consciousness Week, a yearly event during the last week of October under Presidential Proclamation No. 551 issued in 1995.
Of the 357 released PDLs, 122 of them had been granted parole while 235 others had served their jail terms.
Released from NBP were 102 PDLs; Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City, 22; San Ramos Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City, 20; Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan, 49; Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog, Leyte, 28; and Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Davao del Norte, 136.
“May 318 pa ho tayong pardon, clemency applications na nasa Pangulo ngayon na pino-process pa rin (There are still 318 pending applications for pardon and clemency before President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.),” Remulla said.
Last September during the birthday of President Marcos, BuCor released 371 PDLs many of whom were senior citizens and those who had served their jail terms and had been pardoned or paroled.
In his message, Remulla reiterated the need to regionalize BuCor’s prison system.
“Ang mahalaga magkaroon tayo ng regionalized prison dahil ang kapuluan ng Pilipinas ay isang archipelago, hiwa-hiwalay ang mga isla (It is important to regionalize the prison system because the Philippines is an archipelago),” he explained.
“Marami hong naririto ngayon ang hindi na ho nadadalaw sapagkat napakalayo ng kanilang pamilya (Many inmates are here and they are no longer visited by their families because they are far),” he lamented.
For his part, BuCor Officer-in-Charge Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. vowed to implement BuCor reforms and to decongest prison facilities.
To the newly freed PDLs, Catapang challenged them to “lead better lives outside and be law abiding citizens.”
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