A total of 46 Muslim persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) had been released since the start of this year’s Ramadan last March 11, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said on Tuesday, April 9.
The release of Muslim PDLs was disclosed by BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. during his April 4 meeting with Presidential Adviser on Muslim Affairs Almarin Centi Tilla at the BuCor headquarters in Muntinlupa City.
In a statement, BuCor said that among those released were 20 Muslims whose sentences had expired, 12 who had been acquitted, five who had been granted good conduct time allowance (GCTA), five who had been granted probation, and four who had been paroled.
BuCor said that “another 23 Muslim PDLs have been recommended by the Board of Pardons and Parole for Executive Clemency as of April 3.”
A total of 754 Muslim PDLs had been released since the start of the administration of President Marcos, it said.
During the meeting with Tilla, the BuCor recounted that Catapang informed the presidential adviser that “there are 3,014 Muslim PDLs in various OPPF (operating prisons and penal farms) as of Feb. 29, 2024, which is 5.69 percent out of 52,950 total number of PDLs under the watch of BuCor.”
“Of the said 3,014 Muslim PDLs 1,121 are confined at the New Bilibid Prison, 752-Davao Prison and Penal Farm, 698-San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm, 202-Correctional Institution for Women, 144-Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm, 81-Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm and 16-Leyte Regional Prison,” it said.
“Like any other PDLs, Muslims are allowed to practice their faith even inside the correction facilities,” it assured.