THREE hundred seventy-one inmates from the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City and two other prison facilities of the Bureau of Corrections gained their freedom yesterday, the Department of Justice said.
The release of the 371 coincides with the 65th birthday of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
DOJ spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano said “300 more are up for executive clemency today.”
Executive clemency ranges from absolute to conditional pardon, with or without parole conditions. It also covers reprieve or deferment of sentence, and commutation or reduction of sentence.
Of the 371, Clavano said 31 were acquitted, 240 have served the maximum prison sentence, 98 were granted parole, while two others were granted probation.
Forty-five of those released were senior citizens, according to Clavano.
He said 191 were released from the national penitentiary, 37 from the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong City, and 143 from other BuCor facilities.
“The 371 released were a result of the department’s and BuCor’s computation with the help of PAO’s lawyers,” Clavano said.
“Sec. Jesus Crispin Remulla, PAO Chief Persida Acosta and BuCor Director General Gerald Bantag all collaborated to make this possible,” he added.
Remulla had earlier said the department and the BuCor will fast-track the release of inmates who have served their sentence or were acquitted, as well as the documents of those who have applied for pardon or parole.
Remulla had vowed to decongest jails in his first 100 days in office, saying the DOJ is asking for 300 to 500 carpetas, or the inmates’ record, a week from the BuCor so they can process who among the inmates are already eligible for release.
He had also announced plans to construct a maximum security prison facility in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro to house NBP inmates convicted of heinous crimes.
The NBP and six other BuCor prison facilities have a 330 percent inmate congestion rate.
