NEARLY a thousand inmates from two prison and penal colonies operated by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) have undergone screening and interviews to assess their eligibility for potential pardon and other forms of executive clemency.
The screening and interview, according to the BuCor, were conducted from August 23 to 25 by a team from the Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP) headed by its chairperson Sergio Calizo Jr.
The 909 inmates were from the Davao Prison and Penal farm (DPPF) and the Correctional Institute for Women-Mindanao (CIW-Min).
Parole is the temporary and conditional release of an offender from a correctional institution after he or she has served the minimum penalty imposed by the court.
Aside from parole, the other forms of executive clemency are pardon, conditional pardon, and absolute pardon.
BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. said in the processing of parole or executive clemency, inmates who are already of old age, sickly or suffering from terminal or life-threatening illnesses, or with serious disability are the main considerations.
He said the BPP also simplified the requirements and procedures for the processing of the inmates’ application for parole and executive clemency by dispensing with most of the documentary requirements, except for the court certification of no pending case and no pending appeal and a check on the inmate’s records with the National Bureau of Investigation.
The release of deserving inmates is part of the overall policy of the BuCor and the Department of Justice to address the critical problem of overcrowding in its prison and penal colonies.
Since Catapang assumed the top BuCor post in November last year, 5,444 inmates have been released either through completion of sentence, pardon and other forms of executive clemency, or acquittal.
