THE Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) on Thursday expressed full support for the procedural changes being considered by the Supreme Court, including the use of house arrest, medical confinement, and community-supervised release as alternatives to detention.
The legal alternatives to detention were raised by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo in his speech at the recently concluded Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC) Summit. The proposed measures seek to address the country’s persistent detention and prison congestion while ensuring that justice is administered humanely and efficiently.
Corrections Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said the bureau is ‘very much on the same page’ with the Supreme Court, particularly regarding the inclusion of elderly and seriously ill offenders in alternative arrangements.
Catapang said the proposed reforms are consistent with the bureau’s position on compassionate release for offenders who are elderly, sick, or otherwise qualified for humanitarian consideration after serving the minimum period of their sentence.
‘This is no different from our proposal granting medical parole to elderly persons deprived of liberty aged 70 and above, those who are terminally ill, and individuals who are severely incapacitated,’ Catapang said.
Under the proposed framework, qualified persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) may be allowed to serve the remainder of their sentence outside traditional prison facilities, subject to safeguards and monitoring. Such arrangements may include medical parole, home confinement, or community supervision, depending on the individual’s health condition, age, risk level, and other relevant circumstances.
Catapang pointed out that several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, have adopted legal frameworks for compassionate or medical parole. These systems recognize that continued incarceration of terminally ill or severely incapacitated individuals may constitute inhumane treatment and no longer serve a legitimate penal objective.
Based on Bucor data provided by its Directorate for Health and Welfare Services (DHWS), as of August this year, approximately 6,074 elderly PDLs were recorded, 55 of whom were terminally ill.