A legislator who advocates for the swift delivery of justice on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court announcement on the possible resolution of the petitions for release of sick and elderly detainees.
In an online news conference, Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta said the Court may issue the resolution next week.
Rizal Rep. Fidel Nograles, vice chairman of the House of Representatives's Committee on Justice, said the SC announcement gives hope to hundreds of detainees, considering the highly infectious nature of the Coronavirus Disease 2019.
In April, several detainees filed a petition for their provisional release on humanitarian grounds. Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez earlier said more than 22,000 detainees have been released during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The Department of Justice, on the other hand, has allowed simplified rules in applications for parole and executive clemency for convicted prisoners.
Nograles also said that as part of the reforms in the judiciary, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading before it adjourned sine die House Bill 6589 which amends Batas Pambansa 129 or the Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980.