Castro to DOJ: Review overstaying inmates; DOJ says matter not neglected

A lawmaker on Wednesday urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct a review to check whether there are persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) who are serving more time than they should in detention.

ACT Teachers party-list Representative France Castro made the call during the hearing of the House Committee on Appropriations on the budget of the DOJ.

“Madalas ako pumunta sa mga BJMP atsaka doon sa mga kulungan. Nakikita natin ‘yung mga accused doon, sobra-sobra na ‘yung nilalaan nila doon na sa presinto… samantalang ganito lang dapat ‘yung kanilang parusa,” she said.

[I often visit the BJMP and jails. I can see that some of the accused there are serving more time in detention than they should.]

“Maaari ba ma-review ng ating DOJ ‘yung mga ganitong kaso [Can the DOJ review these kinds of cases],” she added.

Castro also urged prosecutors to already dismiss search warrants or warrants of arrest if there is no probable cause. 

“‘Yung mga search warrant, ‘yung warrant of arrest, sa bahagi pa lang sana ng prosecutor, 'pag nakita ng prosecutor ‘yun na wala talagang probable cause, dapat doon pa lang po ay ano hindi na kinakasuhan,” she said.

[For the search warrants or warrants of arrests, maybe these can be already dismissed on the part of the prosecutors. If the prosecutor sees that there really is no probable cause, then the case should no longer be pursued.]

“Kaya lang po ‘yung mga nararanasan nating trumped up cases lalong lalo na sa mga opposition, sa mga aktibistang kagaya namin, ay talagang hinuhuli kahit wala pong probable cause. Kinukulong hangga’t mabulok sa kulungan.”

[However, in the trumped-up cases we are experiencing, especially those involving the opposition, activists like us are immediately detained even with no probable cause. They are detained until they rot in jail.]

Castro said many alleged trumped-up cases against activists are being dismissed due to a lack of probable cause, the most recent being the case of Reina Mae Nasino, the mother who lost her daughter while in detention.

For his part, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said these are things they are not neglecting.

He said the DOJ has requested the Public Attorney’s Office to look into all jails in the country and look into PDLs who may be freed earlier.

“Sapagkat ang congestion po kadalasan po ang cause po niyan ay inefficiency ng maraming bagay [because the usual cause of congestion is inefficiency among many things],” Remulla said.

The House committee also asked the DOJ to present its plan to relocate the National Bilibid Prison after it moved to terminate the hearing. —KG, GMA News