(PHOTO: BJMP)
A total of 85,183 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) nationwide under the supervision of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) were released from June 2024 to May 2025 through its enhanced paralegal services, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) reported on Friday, June 27.
Data from the BJMP disclosed that 11,139 PDLs were granted good conduct time allowance (GCTA), 8,280 were released on probation, 23 on parole and 8,825 on bail.
The BJMP report also noted that 15,085 PDLs were transferred to other facilities such as the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), provincial jails, drug treatment centers and youth detention facilities to ensure proper custodial management.
It added that 5,667 cases were permanently dismissed while 6,342 were provisionally dismissed. A total of 7,431 PDLs were also acquitted while 16,311 others were released after fully serving their sentence.
Another 340 PDLs were required to perform community service in lieu of imprisonment, while 3,570 were released on recognizance.
There were 2,170 PDLs released due to other paralegal services of the BJMP.
The BJMP paralegal program is a key intervention aimed at addressing jail congestion, helping qualified PDLs gain timely access to legal remedies for early release.
To support ongoing decongestion efforts, the BJMP is also constructing 43 new jail buildings nationwide, including perimeter fences and standardized functional areas to improve overall detention conditions.