The Department of Justice on Saturday confirmed the release of 52 convicts who got out of prison early but surrendered after President Rodrigo Duterte issued an ultimatum on heinous crime prisoners granted early release on good conduct.
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In a statement, DOJ spokesperson Undersecretary Markk Perete said the convicts, the first of two batches, were released Friday, citing confirmation from the Bureau of Corrections.
The department had previously confirmed the release of 35 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) as verified by the DOJ-BuCor Joint Task Force, bringing the total to 87.
Those released included convicts who were not heinous crime offenders, those already acquitted of their offenses, and those rightfully pardoned and paroled.
They were given certificates as proof of release but these could not be made public, Perete said.
“Unfortunately, we cannot make those certificates publicly available. But they should at the very least contain the following info: date of and ground/basis for previous release; date of surrender; re-evaluation finding; and basis (acquittal, grant of parole, etc) for re-release,” he said.
Convicts residing in Metro Manila were immediately released, while transportation was being arranged for those from the provinces, Perete said.
He said the Joint Task Force was to meet on Saturday to continue deliberations, but in a later text message, however, Perete said the first two batches of 52 PDLs have already been released.
The 87 convicts to be released anew were earlier freed due to acquittal, pardon, and parole, among others, and not due to the controversial Good Conduct Time Allowance Act.
However, they surrendered again to authorities after Duterte on Sept. 4 ordered prisoners who have been released because of good conduct credits under Republic Act 10592 or the GCTA Law to surrender and register themselves with the BuCor in 15 days.
Duterte said such former inmates would be treated as fugitives from justice if they would not do so.
When the ultimatum had lapsed, authorities found that the number of those who surrendered exceeded its list, as parolees not covered by the order also turned themselves in.
Data from BuCor showed that 22,049 PDLs were released from 2014 to 2019 due to good conduct time allowance. But the Palace said the 2013 law excluded recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapees and persons charged with heinous crimes from its coverage.
BuCor data showed that of the 22,049 PDLs released, 1,914 had been convicted of heinous crimes such as murder and rape.
Of those convicted of heinous crimes, 797 were sentenced for murder, 758 for rape, 274 for robbery with violence or intimidation, 48 for drug-related offenses, 29 for parricide, five for kidnapping with illegal detention, and three for destructive arson.
READ: ‘Surrendered’ inmates first to go—BuCor