39 Inmates Awarded Discharge on Parole

The release was in line with the Presidents pronouncement to

decongest high volume of PDLs (persons deprived of liberty),
relatively bigger than what our prison facilities can accommodate
and the prompt release of deserving prisoners for parole, pardon,
and the end of sentence with correct computations of good
conduct and allowances, Justice Secretary stated.

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Acting on the his commitment on an earlier speech delivered in the New

Bilibid Prisons, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre awarded discharge on
parole papers, Tuesday, 15 March 2017 to 39 inmates.

The event came only a week after the Department of Justice and the
Bureau of Corrections awarded certificates of conditional pardon to four (4)
inmates who were released already and twenty-three (23) others who were
given commutation of sentences.

The Board of Pardons and Parole convened and deliberated upon the
prison jackets/carpetas and prison records of the 23 inmates who were
previously granted commutation of sentences. Out of these, 19 inmates
qualified for parole. Additional 20 inmates were also granted the same.

Justice Secretay Vitaliano Aguirre himself awarded the parole on discharge

papers to 39 prisoners who were mostly elderly.

The release was in line with the Presidents pronouncement to decongest

high volume of PDLs (persons deprived of liberty), relatively bigger than
what our prison facilities can accommodate and the prompt release of
deserving prisoners for parole, pardon, and the end of sentence with
correct computations of good conduct and allowances, Justice Secretary
stated.
The awarding of discharge papers was followed by a dinner with the
parolees. Secretary Aguirre joined some of them in a packed dinner
prepared by the Department of Justice.

Act No. 4103, otherwise known as the Indeterminate Sentence Law,

provides for the rights of inmates to be released from prison upon reaching
their minimum terms, absent any disqualifications and upon approval of
the Board of Pardons and Parole. The BPP uses the Rules on Parole and
Amended Guidelines for Recommending Executive Clemency and Grant of
Parole promulgated on 07 March 2006 as amended by Board Resolution
No. 24-4-10 dated 13 April 2010 and further amended by Board Resolution
No. OT-11-2-12 dated 09 February 2012.

Those granted any Discharge on Parole shall be automatically released

from prison upon the awards of the papers to them. They will be under the
supervision of the Parole and Probations Administrations (PPA) of the DOJ,
specifically of the field offices who have jurisdictions on the residences of
the Parolees until they reached the maximum period of their prison
sentences. Any violation thereto shall be a ground for recommitment in
prison upon the recommendation of PPA and approval of the BPP.

Based on records, from 01 July 2016 to 06 March 2017, there are 1245
parolees who were released from prison excluding the 39 mentioned
inmates and those whose records were processed thereafter.