BuCor releases 784 inmates in 1st half of July

MANILA: Some 784 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) have been released between June 11 and July 18 by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) as its culminating activity for the celebration of the Nelson Mandela International Day. In a statement Friday, BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. said this brought to 15,143 the total number of PDLs released during the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. Of the latest batch, 468 were released due to expiration of their maximum sentence, 165 for acquittal, 122 were paroled, 24 were granted probation, and five were granted Executive Clemency. Catapang said the BuCor honors Mandela and is guided by the standard "Mandela Rules" on how to treat PDLs with dignity. 'Mandela, who was also incarcerated during his time, was a great man, a great leader and a great person who was able to forgive and forget, move on and take his country to greater heights," he said. Meanwhile, the BuCor said that South African Ambassador to the Philippines, Bartinah Tombizo dwa Radebe-Netshitenzhe, who shared her experience when she was in prison in her home country for being an activist, told PDLs that 'prison is not a good place, so you should not come back.' She said a PDL must know how to move on and to have a positive mind to rejoin society. Source: Philippines News agency