Dispatch from Crame No. 769:
Sen. Leila M. de Lima's Statement on the Intra-government support for the call to release qualified PDLs

I welcome the calls of both the House Committee on Justice and the DSWD regarding the immediate release of qualified PDLs amid the COVID-19 pandemic. From what I have heard, the matter is now under study by the DOJ.

It has been 30 days since a lockdown was ordered at the National Capital Region, as a measure to curb the rising cases of virus contractions and deaths attributed to COVID-19.

Pero nandito pa rin tayo, usad-pagong sa mga plano; wala pa ring mapanghawakang konkretong aksyon ukol sa kalunos-lunos na kalagayan sa mga bilangguan. May namatay na at mga na-isolate dahil sa exposure sa mga pinaghihinalaang may COVID-19. May hinihintay ba tayong bilang ng mga magkakasakit o mamamatay bago kumilos?

Sabi ni Sec. Guevarra, bago pa raw lumaganap ang COVID-19 sa bansa, nagbigay na sya ng utos sa BuCor at Board of Pardons and Parole para bilisan ang proseso sa pagpapalaya ng mga bilanggong may edad na at may malubhang sakit. Pero ano na ang nangyari? Binawi, hinarang o inupuan na lang?

I again reiterate my recommendations to the IATF-EID last April 1. Nariyan na ang mga datos, at ang mga pahayag ng mga local and foreign health experts, pati na ng UN, at ang mga ahensya at sangay ng gobyerno. Wag na tayong magpatumpik-tumpik pa. Isagawa na po natin ang mga ito:

1. Enter into an agreement with the Supreme Court to waive the requirement of posting bail for identified PDLs, for minor non-violent crimes, who are still detained pre-conviction, and release them on their own recognizance;

2. Recommend that convicted elderly PDLs, as well as those with serious illness or disability, be granted medical paroles or reduced sentences based on humanitarian grounds; and

3. Recommend likewise, after due scrutiny and assessment by BuCor and BJMP officials, to grant parole or commuted sentences to PDLs convicted of minor non-violent crimes.

The aim is to drastically decongest our jails and prisons, in order to pre-empt a catastrophic scenario of mass infections in these facilities.

Sa usapin ng ating mga PDLs ay may konkreto at mabilisang aksyon tayong magagawa. May mga buhay na masasagip. May kapakanang maaalagaan. Ipakita na sana rito ang tunay na liderato at pagmamalasakit ng pamahalaan.

(Access the handwritten copy of Dispatch from Crame No. 769, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_no._769)