The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) recently released 805 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) from different prisons and penal farms in April.

BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. said 548 had completed their maximum sentence, 161 were granted parole, 67 had their sentences commuted, 28 were given probation, and one was released through a writ of habeas corpus.

The individuals released came from various correctional facilities, including the Davao Prison and Penal Farm, Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm, Leyte Regional Prison, New Bilibid Prison (NBP) Maximum Security Compound, NBP Medium Security Compound, NBP Minimum Compound, Reception and Diagnostic Center, Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm, and San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm.

The release of PDLs from various prison facilities, a key component of the government’s decongestion program, is a significant step towards addressing the issue of overcrowding. Led by the Department of Justice and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, this initiative has seen a total of 12,836 PDLs released under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s administration, with 783 released in March alone.

Catapang highlighted that the March releases were made possible through various legal mechanisms. These included individuals who were acquitted, on bail, granted probation or parole or had their sentences expired.

These mechanisms, such as parole, probation, and conditional pardon, are designed to allow for the conditional release or exemption of offenders from serving their full sentences.

Parole is the conditional release of a prisoner from a correctional institution after serving the minimum sentence period, while probation is a privilege the court grants to a person convicted of a criminal offense to remain in the community instead of going to prison or jail.

On the other hand, a conditional pardon is the conditional exemption of a guilty offender from the punishment imposed by the court.

For Conditional Pardon, the prisoner shall have served at least half the minimum of his original indeterminate and/or definite sentence. The President may grant it upon recommendation from the Board of Pardons and Paroles.

The continuing release of PDLs in different jail facilities under the supervision of BuCor is part and parcel of the government’s decongestion program, particularly the Department of Justice, which is led by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.

By facilitating the release of eligible individuals, the BuCor aims to contribute to the justice system’s goals of fairness, rehabilitation, and societal reintegration.