A total of 108 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) was released on Christmas eve from the prison facilities of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) nationwide.
In a statement issued on late Sunday afternoon, Dec. 24, BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. said that BuCor will release about 200 more PDLs before Dec. 31.
With the recent releases, Catapang said the bureau finally breached its target of releasing 1,000 PDLs within a period of one month.
Catapang said a total of 1,093 qualified PDLs has been released so far this month of December.
"Magandang pamasko ito para sa ating PDLs at kanilang mga pamilya na magkakasama sama sila ngayong kapaskuhan at may 200 pa tayong palalayain bago matapos ang taon (This is a good Christmas gift for PDLs and their families who will be with them this Christmas and we will be releasing 200 more before the year ends),” said
“Target sana natin na mapalaya this December is 1,000 pero nalagpasan natin yan (We were aiming to free 1,000 inmates but we managed to surpass that number),” he said.
Meanwhile, the director general expressed gratitude to the BuCor personnel for working hard in reaching the target.
The BuCor is currently implementing the “Bilis Laya” program that has been releasing qualified inmates who have already served their sentences.