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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider DOJ orders release of sick,elderly prisoners

DOJ orders release of sick,elderly prisoners

Published Apr 12, 2020 12:00 am
By Rey Panaligan Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra on Sunday ordered the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and the Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP) to expedite the release of elderly and sick prisoners or the grant of executive clemency to qualified detainees. He said his order was issued even before the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and long before the relatives of 22 elderly and sick prisoners petitioned the Supreme Court (SC) for their release from detention. Guevarra was one of the respondents in the petition filed early this week by the relatives of the 22 prisoners, most of them senior citizens. “Let me tell you that even before the COVID-19 broke out, the DOJ had already directed the BuCor and the BPP to speed up the release of, and/or the grant of executive clemency to, old and sickly PDLs (persons deprived of liberty),” Guevarra said. He said he has not received a copy of the petition filed with the SC. “I will give my comment once directed to do by the SC,” he added. The SC was earlier asked to order the release of the sick and the elderly prisoners through bail, recognizance, or other non-custodial measures to decongest jails and to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The petition was filed for 22 sick and mostly senior citizens deprived of liberty through the Public Interest Law Center and the National Union of People’s Lawyers.
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