BuCor releases 783 prisoners in March

THE BUREAU of Corrections (BuCor) announced on Monday the release of 783 prisoners across all its facilities in the country last month.

BuCor Chief Gregorio P. Catapang Jr. said 132 of those released have been acquitted of the crimes they were charged with, while four were freed on bail and two granted conditional pardons.

As part of efforts to decongest the country’s jails, the BuCor also released 528 prisoners whose maximum sentences had expired, along with 20 more granted probation, and 97 granted parole.

Breaking them down by BuCor facility, Mr. Catapang reported 149 convicts freed from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP)-Minimum Security Compound, 146 from the NBP Maximum Security Compound, 99 from the NBP-Medium Security Compound, 96 from the Davao Prison and Penal Farm, 65 from the Correctional Institution for Women and Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm, 55 from the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm, 48 from the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm, 44 from the Leyte Regional Prison, and 16 from the NBP-Reception and Diagnostic Center.

The releases allowed the BuCor to move 500 prisoners from the NBP to the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City to aid decongestion efforts. It also recently transferred 500 prisoners from the NBP to the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro.

According to the BuCor, a total of 12,836 prisoners have been released since President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. took office.

“The release of these [prisoners] not only addresses congestion in our prison and other detention centers but allows them to reintegrate into mainstream society,” said Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla in a statement of Monday.

He urged those released to “march forward with unwavering determination” and never to return to the life of crime.