Over 15,000 released from jail: Año

July 2, 2020

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Thursday said over 15,000 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) were released from facilities under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) from March 17 to June 22 as part of the government’s decongestion program in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Año said the release of the PDLs shows that the government is not neglecting them.

“This proves that the justice system is working in the country despite the ongoing pandemic,” he said after some leftist organizations claimed that the government is not doing enough to decongest jails.

Of the 15,322 released PDLs, Año said 5,910 are from the National Capital Region; 1,557 are from Calabarzon; 1,487 from Central Visayas; 1,041 from Central Luzon; 897 from Zamboanga Peninsula; 762 from Northern Mindanao; and the rest are from other regions.

The majority of the released PDLs are elderly and those who committed light or bailable offenses.

The release was not arbitrary but is in accordance with court orders and through coordination with the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) that started on March 17.

The 1,312 PDLs released is due to new Supreme Court guidelines to decongest  jails.

Among such circulars are Administrative Circular (AC) No. 33 –2020 supplemented by the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) Circular No. 89 –2020 which allowed the electronic filing of information and transmission of release orders; OCA Circular No. 91 –2020 which reiterated the guidelines on the release of qualified PDLs through self-recognizance and provisional dismissal; and AC No. 37 –2020 which allowed pilot testing of videoconference hearings of urgent matters in criminal cases involving PDLs.

“All of these PDLs were released by authority of the courts with some released in accordance with new guidelines issued by the Supreme Court because of the pandemic,” Año said.

Despite budgetary and personnel limitations of the BJMP, Año said the BJMP established COVID-19 isolation centers in the regions with medical staff support from the Department of Health, local health units of concerned local government units (LGUs), and utilizing telemedicine, a medical consultation program with medical practitioners using technology.

The six Ligtas COVID Centers with a total of 918 bed capacity are established in strategic areas, particularly in Quezon City, San Fernando City, Cebu City, Mandaue City, Pagbilao in Quezon province, and Zamboanga City.

BJMP  intensified triage, providing focused medical care to patients, daily disinfection of jails, targeted and expanded testing, and massive health education campaigns inside jails.

These are on top of the usual precautionary measures such as wearing of face mask, thermal scanning, use of foot baths, hand washing, and maintaining good hygiene.

Año emphasized that the number of PDLs recovering from COVID-19 continues to increase. There are 549 out of 783 confirmed cases among PDLs, and 90 out of 135 cases among BJMP personnel have recovered.

Because physical distancing is a challenge inside jails, Año said the BJMP also expanded the electronic dalaw (e-Dalaw) program in relation to the temporary suspension of visitation in all jail facilities.  Ella Dionisio/DMS