ANOTHER batch of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) totaling 416 were freed from the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa and three other regional prisons on Monday as part of the government’s ongoing efforts to decongest penal facilities.
Out of the 416 PDLs qualified for release, 83 were from the NBP’s maximum security prison, 104 from the minimum security prison, 12 from the medium security prison, six from its regional reception and diagnostic center, 22 from the Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog, Southern Leyte, 43 from San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City, and 13 from Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla led the ceremony for the release of the PDLs, which has reached 4,162 since June last year.
“We will not stop releasing qualified PDLs as long as I am the Secretary of Justice,” Remulla assured as he vowed to institute other reforms in the Bureau of Corrections.
Remulla previously vowed to release up to 5,000 elderly and sick inmates and those who completed their maximum sentence by June 2023.
Cap on bail bond for indigents
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday issued new guidelines on the recommendation of bail amount in criminal information.
The guidelines, issued through Department Circular No. 011, are the DOJ’s newest measure to address congestion in jail and detention facilities in the country.
The circular covers all cases undergoing inquest or preliminary investigation proceedings of indigents, except for crimes punishable by death, reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment.
The new circular would slash in half any bail bond amount recommended by the prosecutor based on the 2018 Bail Bond Guide in any case and would put a cap on the bail amount at P10,000 for indigents.
Specifically, Section 4 of the circular states, “In the event that, after the conduct of inquest or preliminary investigation proceedings, the investigating prosecutor finds probable cause with a reasonable certainty of conviction against the indigent respondent, he or she shall indicate in the criminal information only 50 percent of the recommended bail as stated in the 2018 Bail Bond Guide, or the amount of P10,000, whichever is lower. The fact of indigency of respondent, now the accused as found in the information, shall be indicated alongside the recommended bail.”
The issuance of the circular was an offshoot of the recently concluded Justice Sector Coordinating Council dialogue held last January 27, 2023 where Remulla raised the perennial problem of overpopulation and congestion of jail and detention facilities.
Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo and Department of the Interior and Local Government Undersecretary for Peace and Order Oscar Valenzuela were among those present during the dialogue.
During the dialogue, Remulla expressed his frustration over weak cases being filed in court, causing the detention of individuals who are later released due to their eventual acquittal.
He noted that many of these individuals are detained for crimes that are bailable but are unable to afford the amount set by the court upon the recommendation of the prosecutor, thus, further contributing to the congestion problem in jails and detention facilities.
In light of this, CJ Gesmundo proposed a revisiting of the existing 2018 Bail Bond Guide, which led to the DOJ’s issuance of the new circular.
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