ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Pres Marcos grants executive clemency to 22 PDLs; Sec Remulla approves release of 8 others

Pres Marcos grants executive clemency to 22 PDLs; Sec Remulla approves release of 8 others

Published Mar 9, 2024 06:29 am

President Marcos has granted executive clemency to 22 persons deprived of liberty (PDLS), while Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla has approved the release of eight PDLs who had served at least 40 years in jail.

In a statement issued on Saturday, March 9, the Bureau of Corrections (Bucor) said a total of 20 PDLs were granted commutation of service, while two others were given conditional pardon.

Executive clemency “refers to reprieve, absolute pardon, conditional pardon with or without parole conditions, and commutation of sentence granted by the President.”

BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. said that the bureau will process the release of PDLs Alfredo Bongcawel and his brother Leopoldo who were granted conditional pardon.

Also to be processed for release are PDLs Roberto Gaut and Pablito Alvaran Jr. who have served their maximum sentence, Catapang said.

The other PDLs issued clemency and who had served their minimum sentence are Evelyn Palarca, Dioscoro Talapian, Venancio Abanes, Avelino Tadina, Fernando San Jose, Quirino De Torres, Bonifacio Besana, Bernabe Cabrales, Anselmo Delas Alas, Arcadio Venzon, Danilo Cabase,  Beverly Tibo-Tan, Aurora Ambrocio, Felipe Galarion, Armando Dante, Leopoldo Conlu, Alex Valencerina, and Alfredo Toral.

Approved for release by Remulla were PDLs Zaldy Francisco, Benedicto Ramos, David Garcia, Bernardo de Guzman, Rodel Garcia, Armando Canillo, Edilberto Platon and Josefina Patanao.

BuCor said that based on their prison records of the eight PDLs, they were sentenced to at least one count of reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment.

It said that under Department Order 652 dated Nov. 22, 2022, the release of all PDLs incarcerated in national penitentiaries with expired sentences should be approved by the BuCor’s director general BuCor or his duly authorized representative.

It also said the release of PDLs sentenced to life imprisonment or reclusion perpetua or those classified as high-risk/high-profile should be implemented only upon prior approval of the secretary of justice.

To ensure that the release of PDLs who have completed the service of their sentence will not be delayed, pending the approval of the secretary of justice, it is mandatory for BuCor’s director general to submit the necessary documents for the evaluation and approval of the secretary of justice not later than three months prior to the expected date of release of the PDLs concerned, it added.

 

ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.