Over 200 inmates in Leyte released

More than 200 convicts in Leyte have been released as part of the government’s effort of declogging the country’s penal facilities.

Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Benjamin De Los Santos said the 234 convicts are from the Leyte Prison and Penal Farm.

He said the inmates have already served their sentences with good conduct time allowance (GCTA).

However, De Los Santos said the inmates remain in prison due to the slow processing of release papers.

De Los Santos has created a task force to speed up the processing of documents of inmates set for release.

“The priority program seeks to ease the backlogs and expedite decongestion in prison facilities,” De Los Santos said.

Earlier, 66 inmates from the New Bilibid Prison were released.

The release of the 234 inmates has been approved by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and President Rodrigo Duterte.

Aside from the Leyte Prison and Penal Farm, the prison facilities also under BuCor are the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City; Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Princesa, Palawan; Sabisyan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro; San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City; Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog, Leyte and Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Panabo, Davao. RAM/rga