Justice dept releases 783 PDLs

THE Department of Justice (DoJ), through the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) led by Director-General Gregorio Catapang Jr., released on Monday nearly 800 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).

A total of 783 PDLs were released during a culminating activity at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.

Newly released PDLs come from different prison and penal facilities nationwide under the BuCor, including the NBP, the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW), Davao Prison and Penal Farm (DPPF), Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF), and several others.

«Your resilience and perseverance in life within the difficult walls of prison is a living testament that anyone who falls can rise even stronger, wiser and better,» Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said during the event.

The BuCor said the PDLs were freed under different modes, such as acquittal, parole, conditional pardon, cash bond, bail bond, expiration of maximum sentence, and expiration of maximum sentence with Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA).

«The release of these PDLs not only addresses congestion in our prison and other detention centers but allows them to reintegrate into mainstream society,» Remulla said.

He urged the PDLs never to turn back but to «march forward with unwavering determination; you have a whole new lease on life.»

BuCor recently transferred 500 PDLs from the NBP to the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm (SPPF) in Occidental Mindoro as part of its efforts to decongest the national penitentiary.

This brings to 12,053 the total number of released PDLs since the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.