A total of 31,408 qualified persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) availed of the “on-site and off-site’’ voting modes in the May 12 midterm elections as of 2 p.m., the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said.
In a statement, the BJMP noted that the latest figure represents 92.74 percent of PDL voter’s turnout with 2,458 remaining PDLs yet to cast their votes.
The BJMP noted that 29,784 PDLs voted on-site in the bureau’s 473 special polling places (SPP), while 1,624 escorted PDLs casted their votes ‘off-site.’
There were also a total of 33,866 PDL voters in the Elections Day Computerized voter’s list/Posted computerized voter’s list composed of 30,569 male inmates and 3,297 female prisoners as stated in the BJMP “PDL Voter Turnout Monitoring’’ report.
“Behind bars, not beyond rights, every vote still counts,’’ the BJMP asserted.
Further, the BJMP stressed that “the right to suffrage is a fundamental constitutional right that is not automatically lost unless a person has been convicted by final judgment of a crime punishable by disqualification.’’
“Those who are merely detained and not yet convicted are presumed innocent, and therefore retain their right to participate in democratic processes,’’ the BJMP pointed out.
The BJMP emphasized that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) affirmed this right, stating that “in upholding the validity of Resolution No. 9371, the Supreme Court affirmed Comelec’s commitment to the rule of law, due process, fair play, and equity, and in championing the constitutional right to suffrage of all qualified Filipino citizens.”
“In line with this, Comelec promulgated Resolution No. 10768, which laid out the guidelines for PDL voting, allowing the creation of special polling places inside jails and prisons depending on the voting population, the BJMP noted.
The BJMP maintained that the participation of the PDLs in the election is a testament to the agency’s commitment to upholding human rights and empowering every citizen, regardless of circumstance, to have their voice heard, their choice counted, and their dignity upheld.