President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday, Jan. 10, ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to continue with the release of parole-qualified persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) and expressed support to use an Alcatraz-type prison for hardened criminals.
The move to continue qualified inmates is in line with the decongestion plan for jail facilities.
“Wala naman silang magaling na abugado. So that’s why we are in favor now to release many of them,” Marcos said during the Cabinet meeting while noting that some PDLs are languishing in jail due to limited access to good lawyers.
“They just needed representation to set them free. So let’s continue with that,” he added.
The plan to put hardened offenders to special facilities is in bid to isolate them and cut their access to criminal operations outside correctional facilities.
“Iyan ‘yung mga ganoon we have to do that para hindi na ka maka-contact. Alam mo, we have to isolate them properly,” Marcos said.
The DOJ has released 3,000 PDLs from July 2022 to December 2022 and pushed through with the digitalization of the Probation and Parole Administration.
The agency is also mulling over transferring the maximum security compound in Muntinlupa City to a dedicated correctional facility in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro. -AG – gb
