CJ Peralta: Nearly 10k detainees released due to court initiatives amid COVID-19 crisis

More than 9,700 detainees have been released across the country in the past month, Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta said Thursday.

Citing figures from the Office of the Court Administrator, Peralta said 9,731 persons deprived of liberty (PDL) were released from March 17 to April 29.

A total of 4,657 PDLs were released in Luzon (outside Metro Manila), 1,072 in Visayas, and 1,920 in Mindanao, while 2,082 were released in the National Capital Judicial Region.

In an administrative circular, Peralta said the releases resulted from court initiatives aimed at facilitating and expediting the release of certain detainees.

He cited circulars allowing the electronic filing of cases and transmission of release orders; reminding judges of existing guidelines on release of qualified detainees through self-recognizance and provisional dismissal of cases; and authorizing the pilot testing of videoconference hearings on urgent matters in cases involving detainees.

Peralta issued another circular on Thursday, this time allowing reduced bail and release on recognizance for indigent PDLs.

"With this instant initiative, more PDLs are expected to be released," he said.

The chief justice issued these circulars amid mounting calls for the release of inmates whose age and underlying and pre-existing medical conditions make them vulnerable to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Several detainees, whom their lawyers identified as political prisoners, have filed a petition before the Supreme Court asking for their release, claiming that authorities' safety measures failed to keep the virus out of the country's overcrowded jails. The case remains pending.

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, which has custody of inmates awaiting or undergoing trial, said last Tuesday that 233 detainees and jail personnel at three city jails in the country have tested positive for COVID-19.

The Bureau of Corrections, which runs penal facilities for convicted prisoners, has reported 50 COVID-19 cases and three deaths among inmates and one case among staff members.

The Department of Justice has allowed simplified rules for applications for parole and executive clemency in an effort to hasten the release of qualified inmates from prison. — RSJ, GMA News