DURING the Cabinet meeting in Malacañang last Tuesday, President Marcos Jr. directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to continue releasing inmates, or persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), who are qualified for parole.
The Chief Executive also supported the DOJ’s proposal to transfer hardened criminals to an Alcatraz-type prison which would isolate them from the general jail population.
Within the year, the justice department is eyeing to decongest prison facilities by transferring the maximum security compound in Muntinlupa City to a dedicated correctional facility in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro.
The DOJ is also planning to establish separate heinous crime facilities in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
‘The humanitarian policies in our prisons should continue, along with an even vigorous resolve to weed out graft and corruption in that bureau.’
All these plans are doable and well-intentioned, because these will further the attainment of the objectives of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), among them putting a stop to criminal activities especially those being directed by crime kingpins while behind bars.
The President underscored the need for the inmates’ transfer to special facilities, to “isolate them properly” so that they would not be in a position to further commit crimes while being incarcerated. The ongoing investigation and preliminary court proceedings on the Percy Lapid murder case point to the fact that prison personalities — both officials and inmates — were involved in at least two murders.
In its 2022 accomplishment report, the DOJ said it released almost 3,000 PDLs from July to December 2022 as an immediate step to decongest correctional facilities. The department also fast-tracked the processing of the release of qualified prisoners by digitalizing the systems of the Probation and Parole Administration.
Marcos noted that based on his experience as governor of Ilocos Norte, most of the PDLs are languishing in jail because they cannot afford the services of good lawyers. “They don’t have good lawyers, so that’s why we are in favor now to release many of them. They just needed representation to set them free. So let’s continue with that,” he added.
It is interesting to note that for the first time under Justice Secretary Boying Remulla, the DOJ-BuCor allowed last Christmas season “inmate to inmate” visits, where inmates were allowed to visit loved ones held in another prison.
On Christmas and New Year’s Day, the BuCor allowed 300 inmates from the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City to visit their husbands at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
The humanitarian policies in our prisons should continue, along with an even vigorous resolve to weed out graft and corruption in that bureau.
