PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to look into the plight of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), especially those who are qualified for parole, to ensure they have access to lawyers.
Marcos said this may pave the way for their eventual release and boost efforts to decongest the country’s correctional facilities.
Presidential briefer Daphne Paez said the President, during a Cabinet meeting in Malacañang, shared that based on his experience as governor of Ilocos Norte, many PDLs are still languishing in jail because they cannot afford or do not have accesses to lawyers who could help them plead their cases and eventually gain freedom.
She said Marcos is in favor of releasing many PDLs who have long been languishing in jail.
“They just needed representation to set them free. So, let’s continue with that,” the President said as quoted by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).
The PCO said Marcos also supports the DOJ’s plan to transfer hardened criminals to an Alcatraz-type prison to isolate them and put a stop to their criminal activities.
The President also raised what he said was the rampant corruption inside the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), along with the continued operation of illegal activities by some inmates even while behind bars. He said this is why they need to be transferred to special facilities.
“That’s why we have to do that to prevent them from being contacted. We have to isolate them properly,” Marcos said.
Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla, during the Cabinet meeting, said the DOJ is eyeing to decongest prison facilities by transferring inmates at the maximum-security compound in Muntinlupa City to a dedicated correctional facility in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro within the year.
He said the DOJ is also planning to establish separate heinous crime facilities in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
He also presented the department’s 2022 accomplishment report and plans for 2023 which Paez said highlighted the DOJ’s theme of compassionate justice, which is in keeping with the directive of the President to look into the plight of PDLs.
Remulla said the DOJ released almost 3,000 PDLs from July to December 2022 as part of immediate steps to decongest correctional facilities.
He said the DOJ is also expediting the processing of the release of qualified prisoners by digitalizing the systems of the Probation and Parole Administration.
