THE PHILIPPINE government on Monday freed more than 300 prisoners as part of ongoing efforts to decongest jails, where over a thousand deaths were recorded last year.
In a tweet, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said some of the 328 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) released on Monday have already served their maximum sentence.
“Others were granted parole or probation, among other modes of release,” it added.
The government has now released a total of 5,917 prisoners this year.
Of the newly freed prisoners, 118 came from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City; 13 from Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City; 76 from Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Davao del Norte; 28 from the Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog, Leyte; 23 from San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City; 24 from Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro; 44 from Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan; and two from the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City.
Justice Secretary Crispin C. Remulla, who was present at the ceremony, said they aim to release as many as 800 PDLs every month.
The Justice department and BuCor would again submit names of PDLs who are qualified for executive clemency, he said at the event streamed live on BuCor’s Facebook page.
A total of 1,166 PDLs died in prison cells in 2021, according to German database company Statista. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza