Twenty-seven elderly and sickly prisoners under the supervision of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) were given executive clemency Tuesday although one of them died before being released from prison.
President Rodrigo Duterte signed and granted four conditional pardon and 23 commutation of sentence out of the 127 prisoners recommended by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II.
Aguirre together with Justice Undersecretary Reynante Orceo and BuCor Director General Benjamin Delos Santos led in awarding the certificates to the prisoners at the BuCor social hall.
The four who received conditional pardon and were released from prison immediately were Rafael Fabrigas from the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm; and Catalino Jao, Bienvinido Abagat and Roger Javilionar, all prisoners at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.
Of the the 23 who received commutation of sentence, NBP prisoner Rogelio Malagotnot died on February 19, just three days before President Duterte signed the order on February 22.
The remaining 22 will wait for a few days before they are finally released from prison. They are NBP prisoners Nicolas Aguhob, Bert Beltran, Lucio Cabinas, Vicente Calizo, Restituto Carandang, Lucerio Cortas, Moreno dela Cruz, Narciso Edio, Edgardo Hufano, Wilfredo Juanillo, Virgilio Lucena, Pedro Monares, Claudio Torres, Ernesto Torres, Avelino Tresvalles and Benjamin Trinidad.
Also granted commutation of sentence were female prisoners Evangeline Galicia, Gloria Ordista and Milagros Bucal from the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW), Iwahig prisoners Toribio Catamora and Jose Tagalog, and Davao Prison and Penal Farm prisoner Feliciano Librado.
“Enjoy your freedom. Mahirap ang buhay sa loob kaya huwag na kayong bumalik,” Aguirre told the prisoners, saying that the DoJ aims to decongest prisons through the grant of clemency and parole.
Orceo said of the remaining 100 prisoners who were recommended for clemency, three already died. (JONATHAN M. HICAP)