GENERAL SANTOS CITY — At least 219 inmates of the city reformatory center gained freedom last year through plea bargaining agreements facilitated by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
Supt. Peter Bongat Jr., warden of the Lanton Reformation Center here, said Wednesday the inmates were ordered released by the courts after availing of the simplified plea- bargaining framework.
Bongat said the framework allows the “accused and the prosecutor to work out a mutually reasonable disposition of the case subject to court approval.”
Inmates could have their sentences reduced or get released after pleading guilty to charges filed against them, he said.
“Most of the inmates who opted for the plea bargaining were facing cases involving illegal drugs,” he said.
Bongat said they implemented the scheme to help decongest the city jail’s population, which currently stands at 1,989 and with a congestion rate of 450 percent.
The Supreme Court allowed drug offenders to avail of plea bargaining for cases involving the possession of small quantities of shabu, marijuana, and other illegal drugs.
Defendants may opt for plea bargain “to a lesser offense or to only one or some of the counts of a multi-count indictment in return for a lighter sentence than that for the graver charge,” a BJMP statement said.
Bongat said at least 20 more inmates are due for release in the coming days as a result of the plea bargaining.
Meanwhile, jail management expects the completion by the second quarter of its PHP28-million expansion project, which involves the construction of 28 additional cells.
