46 Muslim PDLs released during Ramadan

Some 46 Muslim persons deprived of liberty have been released from the Bureau of Corrections since the start of Ramadan on 10 March.

Bureau of Corrections Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang gave these statistics when he was visited on Thursday afternoon by Presidential Adviser on Muslim Affairs Almarin Centi Tilla and asked about the condition of Muslim PDLs in different operating prisons and penal farms of the bureau.

Catapang disclosed that based on their data, there are about 3,014 Muslim PDLs in various OPPF as of 29 February 2024, which is 5.69 percent out of 52,950 total number of PDLs under the watch of BuCor.

Of the said 3,014 Muslim PDLs, 1,121 are confined at the New Bilibid Prison; 752 at Davao Prison and Penal Farm; 698 at San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm; 202 at Correctional Institution for Women; 144 at Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm; 81 at Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm; and 16 at Leyte Regional Prison.

“Like any other PDLs, Muslims are allowed to practice their faith even inside the correction facilities. Our Muslim brothers are not left behind. In fact, 46 of them have already been released since the start of Ramadan, while another 23 have been recommended by the Board of Pardons and Parole for Executive Clemency, as of 3 April.

The 46 Muslim PDLs were released based on the following: 20 expiration of sentence, 12 acquitted, five due to RA 10592 / turnover, five on probation; and four were granted parole.

There were a total of 754 Muslim PDLs released since the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.