2,500 convicts released from various prisons

By: Marlon Ramos - Philippine Daily Inquirer | January 02,2021 - 06:57 AM

MANILA, Philippines — More than 2,500 convicts were released from state penitentiaries in the country from January to November of 2020, including over 1,200 prisoners who were acquitted for criminal offenses they were initially found guilty of committing, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Of this number, only one was freed by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) after President Rodrigo Duterte granted him absolute pardon.

Emmeline Aglipay Villar, justice undersecretary, said 1,333 convicts were granted parole while two others were released after the cases against them were dismissed by the courts. She said the BuCor records showed that the number of convicts paroled last year was 35 percent more than those paroled in 2019.

Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta said their release was part of the Supreme Court’s intervention to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus in jails.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

Read Next

Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.

TAGS: BuCor, DOJ

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. To find out more, please click this link.