3k-5K PDLs expected to be released this December —BJMP

Over 3,000 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) are expected to be released this month, in time for the Christmas season, according to the chief of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

“More or less makakapagpalaya kami ng mga 3,000 to 5,000 [this] December po,” BJMP chief Jail Director Ruel Rivera said at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.

(More or less we can release about 3,000 to 5,000 this December.)

The BJMP chief said the jail management bureau is granting full GCTA or Good Conduct Time Allowance to PDLs “kaya maraming lalaya ngayong kapaskuhan (that’s why many will be released this Christmas season).”

GCTA is a privilege granted to a prisoner, whether detained or convicted by final judgment, entitling him to a reduction of his jail or prison term for every month of actual detention or service of sentence as a reward for good conduct and exemplary behavior.

Moreover, Rivera said the bail for indigent PDLs was also reduced to a cap of P10,000.

PDLs can also use the proceeds of their handicrafts they made while in prison to fund their bail, according to the BJMP chief.

Rivera said the more than 74,000 PDLs have been released this year, most were released on GCTA while only around 10,000 PDLs finished serving their maximum sentence.

Despite this, the BJMP chief said jails under its jurisdiction have a nationwide congestion rate of 358%.

He said there are 122,000 PDLs under the BJMP’s watch, but the bureau can only handle an average of 56,000 PDLs. —VAL, GMA Integrated News