Justice Sec. Aguirre blames the red tape for the delay of the release of the inmates.
AGUIRRE BLAMES – Department of Justice Sec. Vitaliano Aguirre II blamed the red tape for the delay of the release of the first batch of inmates.
Recently, a news report entailing about the delayed release of inmates broke in. Based on a report in ABS-CBN News, 27 inmates out of 127 who were suggested for release were chosen by the President.
The 27 inmates are set to be the first batch to be released. However, based on the report, Justice Sec. Aguirre said that one inmate did not make it to the day of the release as he died two days before it.
According to the DOJ Secretary, the 26 inmates have undergone the rehabilitation programs of the New Bilibid Prison and will be given another chance to have their liberty.
Justice Secretary said that the first batch should have been freed last year as their recommendation for release was already done in November 2016 based on the report.
“But because of the bureaucratic red tapes and of course the Office of the President has been full and handling many problems of the state kaya po na-delay ito nang kaunti [that is why it was a little delayed],” DOJ Sec. Aguirre said.
According to the report, the DOJ Secretary expressed that the move of the government of granting pardon to inmates who are already in their old age is also for the purpose of reducing the high number of people behind the bars who are “deprived of liberty”.
The Justice Secretary also added that the move is also to recognize that the “reformation is an option”.
“Today we are witnessing justice at work. Today we see that reformation is an option,” Justice Sec. Aguirre said.
According to the news report, Justice Sec. Aguirre spoke to the inmates during a ceremony at the New Bilibid Prison and challenged them to “better” themselves.
Moreover, the Justice Secretary recognized that the life inside the prison cell is hard. He told the inmates that when they will leave the prison, they are no longer welcome to come back. They should serve as hope for others according to Justice Sec. Aguirre.
The DOJ Secretary also shared the Office of the President continues to consider the application for executive clemency of the inmates.