The Justice department has simplified the requirements for processing the applications for parole and executive clemency by inmates.
The agency says it is part of the efforts to ease the overcrowding in prisons and to control the spread of the coronavirus in the penal system.
In a resolution approved by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on April 15, the Board of Pardons and Parole relaxed the rules and removed most of the documentary requirements for the grant of paroles—except for the court certification that an inmate has no pending cases and appeals and a record check by the National Bureau of Investigation.
Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete said parolees and pardoned inmates were also no longer required to report to parole and probation officers while the state of national emergency was in place.
He says the revised rules also require the Board of Pardons and Parole to double its caseload for review and deliberation during its meetings to speed up the processing of applications.
Decongestion
The Bureau of Immigration will decongest its detention center in Bicutan in Taguig to reduce the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks among the foreigners confined there.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente has ordered the bureau’s legal division and other offices to speed up the resolution of the deportation cases against the foreigners detained in Camp Bagong Diwa.
Morente says the overcrowding in Bicutan exposes the inmates and their guards to COVID-19.
“We don’t want COVID-19 transmissions to happen in our facility,” he said.
“We will work double-time to deport aliens especially for the wards that are considered health risks.”
Morente says Immigration might consider granting bail and release to the aliens who cannot be deported yet due to pending court cases.
He has also ordered the bureau’s deportation unit to expedite the implementation of all deportation orders issued by the board and to secure the clearances to facilitate the foreigners’ departure.