MORE than 74,000 persons deprived of liberty have been released from facilities run by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in the past 10 months, a move lauded by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) leadership as it decongests over 400 jails in the country.
DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos lauded the BJMP's move, crediting the agency's programs, such as providing legal and paralegal services, to reduce overcrowding in jail facilities nationwide.
As of September 2022, the BJMP runs 477 jail facilities in 17 regions, with Calabarzon having the highest number of jails at 65.
The DILG said that from January to October this year, a total of 7,647 PDLs were released on bail; 10,592 were serving a sentence with time allowance, while 18,290 were serving without time allowances. PDLs with time allowance means that their sentence has been reduced due to good behavior.
Data from the DILG released on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, further states that 6,249 PDLs were acquitted in the same period, while 7,591 were transferred to the Bureau of Corrections, youth detention facilities, National Center for Mental Health, and drug reformation centers.
Fifty-one PDLs were released on parole; 6,831 on probation; 4,677 on permanent dismissal, while 6,161 on provisional dismissal (temporary suspension of criminal proceedings against a defendant); 4,840 were released on recognizance (a person who has been arrested and charged with a crime but is allowed to remain at liberty pending their trial without having to post bail).
Sixty were released on community service, and 1,601 PDLs were released through other modes.
Abalos has pushed for the introduction of programs that would persuade PDLs to change their ways and choose to become more productive.
In a statement, the DILG chief pointed out that instead of constructing more jail facilities that seek to penalize offenders, the BJMP should take steps towards the full reformation of PDLs to give them a second chance in life.
“The solution is not to build new prisons. The right solution is to prevent crime and prevent someone from returning to prison,” Abalos said in Tagalog.