A total of 18,355 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) have been released from March 17 to May 15 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the Office of the Court Administrator showed.
“We immediately gave 1,000 of our busiest courts the facility to conduct videoconferencing hearings, again focusing on the concerns of the PDLs. And this is the result – more than 18,000 PDLs released,” Court Administrator Atty. Midas Marquez said.
“Those who were released were charged with crimes punishable under the Revised Penal Code, special penal laws and a few local ordinances whose cases are still pending in the courts,” Marquez added.
The court administrator said some of the released were from BJMP and other provincial jails “either on reduced bail or self recognizance” or after having served the minimum imposable penalty.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta disclosed the said individuals are not yet convicted or are still innocent “and yet they are highly at risk of being infected by the deadly virus.”
Marquez said the number of released PDLs will rise in the coming days especially with the reopening of courts in areas under GCQ. – Report from Kenneth Paciente
