The changes being considered by the Supreme Court, including the use of house arrest, medical confinement and community-supervised release as alternatives to detention, were backed by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo raised the legal alternatives to detention during his speech at the recently concluded Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC) Summit held at the Manila Hotel on Monday.

The proposed measures seek to address the country’s persistent detention and prison congestion while ensuring that justice is administered humanely and efficiently.

BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said the bureau is “very much on the same page” with the Supreme Court, particularly regarding the inclusion of elderly and seriously ill offenders in alternative arrangements.

Catapang said the proposed reforms are consistent with the bureau’s position on compassionate release for offenders who are elderly, sick or otherwise qualified for humanitarian consideration after serving the minimum period of their sentence.

“This is no different from our proposal granting medical parole to elderly persons deprived of liberty aged 70 and above, those who are terminally ill, and individuals who are severely incapacitated,” Catapang said.

Under the proposed framework, qualified persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) may be allowed to serve the remainder of their sentence outside traditional prison facilities, subject to appropriate safeguards and monitoring. Such arrangements may include medical parole, home confinement or community supervision, depending on the individual’s health condition, age, risk level and other relevant circumstances.

Catapang pointed out that several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, have adopted legal frameworks for compassionate or medical parole. These systems recognize that continued incarceration of terminally ill or severely incapacitated individuals may constitute inhumane treatment and no longer serve a legitimate penal objective.

Based on BuCor data provided by its Directorate for Health and Welfare Services (DHWS), approximately 6,074 elderly PDLs were recorded as of August this year, 55 of whom were terminally ill.