Drilon hits PAO for neglecting 862 prisoners due for release

Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Tuesday slammed the Public Attorney’s Office over its supposed inaction on the release of around 862 prisoners, calling it unacceptable and inexcusable.

Drilon said so far only two have been released out of the 862 prisoners entitled to benefit from the passage of Republic Act 10951, which adjusted the amount or value of property or damage on which a penalty is based, in August 2017.

“There are 860 inmates who could have been released but are still languishing in jail because of the bureaucracy that is responding slowly. Ano ba naman yan?” Drilon said during his interpellation on the budget of the Department of Justice and its attached agencies.

“Without any conscience, they let 862 inmates suffer continued imprisonment,” he lamented.

At least 39 petitions have been filed by the PAO with the Supreme Court, while 12 have been filed with regional trial courts.

RA 10951, which Drilon authored and shepherded, intends to benefit inmates who are mostly poor and who have been convicted with inordinately long prison sentences and excessive fines for crimes which are in fact considered petty nowadays.

The Supreme Court has also issued detailed guidelines on the implementation of RA 10951 primarily naming the PAO as the one with the duty of filing the requisite petitions, he noted.

The senator was shocked to find out that the PAO is too slow in filing petitions before the court for the immediate release of prisoners, who are continuously incarcerated despite the passage of RA 10951.

“I am disappointed. How can the bureaucracy react in this manner when the liberties of people are on the line?” he said.

“Let’s face it: This is criminal neglect. They did not mind this because it involves prisoners. That’s the truth. They did not mind it at all,” he added.

The senator warned the PAO, an attached agency of the Department of Justice, that he will have the performance of the agency with regard to the implementation of RA 10951 reviewed.

“We are going to file a resolution asking for a review of the performance of the DOJ insofar as this is concerned. You are given fair warning. I will repeat, this is totally unacceptable,” he said.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel III agreed with Drilon and vowed to join and actively participate in reviewing the DOJ’s performance.

For its part, the PAO has committed to file the petitions for all 862 inmates by January next year.

Drilon warned that he will hold the PAO accountable if they do not make any progress with the filing of petitions for the release of the 862 inmates qualified to be released under the law. — MDM, GMA News