REP. Brian Raymund Yamsuan (PL, Bicol Saro) yesterday called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to consider giving priority to the elderly, sick, and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in recommending the grant of executive clemency to prisoners this Christmas season.
This as the administration lawmaker expressed support for Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla’s plan to release about 1,500 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) by recommending to the President the grant of executive clemency.
“We urge the DOJ and the Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP) to consider giving priority to elderly, frail PDLs and those suffering from critical illnesses and disabilities in recommending the grant of executive clemency to President Marcos,” Yamsuan said.
Qualified PDLs are recommended for clemency by the Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP), an agency under the DOJ.
Yamsuan also lauded the DOJ’S Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) under Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. for facilitating the release of more than 11,000 PDLs since the start of the Marcos Jr. administration, as part of the government’s jail decongestion program.
“And we are hopeful that the President would act on these recommendations for humanitarian reasons. Christmas is a time for mercy and compassion. It is also a time that should be spent with one’s family. PDLs who are old, disabled, or in poor health should be given the chance to spend time with their loved ones,” he said.
Under the revised rules and regulations of the BPP, executive clemency refers to “reprieve, absolute pardon, conditional pardon with or without parole conditions and commutation of sentence as may be granted by the President of the Philippines.”
Yamsuan said he is optimistic that the BPP would give priority to the elderly, sick and frail PDLs following its recent issuance of Board Resolution OT-08-02-2023 which states: “PDLs who are 70 years old and, even if they are considered high-risk, if they have already served 10 years of their sentence, shall now be considered for executive clemency specially if they are suffering from old age, being sickly, or terminal or life threatening illnesses or other serious disability.”
This means that more elderly and critically ill PDLs could be recommended for executive clemency because the period of the mandatory minimum sentence service has been lowered to 10 years from the previous 15 years, Yamsuan said.
As for the other PDLs qualified for release either through pardon, parole, or having served their maximum sentence, the lawmaker said they should be given the proper training and assistance so that they can start to rebuild their lives and become productive individuals.
Yamsuan said freed PDLs have undergone BuCor’s Reformation and Release Program, under which, they were given skills training by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
