Solon wants elderly, sick, PWDs prioritized for clemency grant

MANILA – A party-list lawmaker on Thursday urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prioritize the elderly, sick, and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in recommending the grant of executive clemency to persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).

Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan made the call as he lauded the jail decongestion efforts of the DOJ.

He pointed out that the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) has facilitated the release of more than 11,000 PDLs since the start of the Marcos administration as part of the government’s jail decongestion program.

Yamsuan said his request is in line with the resolution issued by the Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP), which states that “PDLs who are 70 years old and, even if they are considered high-risk, if they have already served 10 years of their sentence, shall now be considered for executive clemency, especially if they are suffering from old age, being sickly, or terminal or life-threatening illnesses or other serious disability.”

The BPP has defined executive clemency as “reprieve, absolute pardon, conditional pardon with or without parole conditions and commutation of sentence as may be granted by the President of the Philippines.”

“We urge the DOJ and the BPP to consider giving priority to elderly, frail PDLs and those suffering from critical illnesses and disabilities in recommending the grant of executive clemency to President (Ferdinand) Marcos (Jr.),” Yamsuan said.

He also expressed hope that the President would act on these recommendations for humanitarian reasons.

“Christmas is a time for mercy and compassion. It is also a time that should be spent with one’s family. PDLs who are old, disabled, or in poor health should be given the chance to spend time with their loved ones,” he added.

As for the other PDLs qualified for release either through pardon, parole, or have served their maximum sentence, Yamsuan said they should be given the proper training and assistance so that they could start to rebuild their lives and become productive individuals.

He noted that freed PDLs were given skills training by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) through the BuCor’s Reformation and Release Program.

Providing appropriate interventions to PDLs to prevent them from becoming repeat offenders is another strategy to help decongest the country’s overpopulated penal and detention facilities, he said.

DOJ spokesperson, Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano, earlier said the agency expects to recommend “close to 1,000” PDLs to Malacañang as possible beneficiaries of the presidential grant of pardon and executive clemency. — Filane Mikee Cervantes (PNA)