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Humanitarian policies for old, sick inmates in place: DOJ

By Benjamin Pulta

April 13, 2020, 9:05 pm

MANILA – The country's justice system has measures in place to ensure humanitarian treatment for old and sickly persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Monday.

"(E)ven before the (coronavirus disease 2019) broke out, the DOJ had instructed the Bureau of Corrections (BOC) and the Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP) to expedite the release of or grant of executive clemency to old and sickly PDLs serving their sentence, for humanitarian reasons," Guevarra said in a press statement.

Guevarra made the comment following a petition filed by groups before the Supreme Court last week seeking the grant of temporary liberty to old and infirm PDLs in light of the Covid-19 crisis.

He added that the DOJ has yet to receive a copy of the petition.

The BuCor and the BPP service the needs of inmates serving their sentence while the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) houses PDLs before conviction in pending cases before courts.

Prison officials earlier said any release of PDLs must be based on existing laws as they assured strict implementation of health and safety standards in the country's jails. (PNA)

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