President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to grant an executive clemency to 24 other inmates apart from the 40 who were released recently from the national penitentiary, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Monday.
“The executive clemency grant for these 24 PDLs [people deprived of liberty] is being processed in the Office of the President. They may be released in the next few days,” Guevarra said in a text message.
On Christmas Day, the Bureau of Corrections released 40 inmates after processing their papers.
Of the 40, 32 were granted parole by the Board of Pardons and Parole while the rest had completed their sentences.
The bureau did not release the names of the inmates but said four of them were convicted for murder or homicide.
The President traditionally grants presidential pardons on sick and aging inmates during the Christmas season.
Executive clemency is a power given to the President by the Constitution. It includes reprieves, absolute or conditional pardons with or without parole conditions, and commutation of sentences.
On the other hand, a parole is the conditional release of a prisoner from a correctional institution after the person has served the minimum of his or her sentence.