A female person deprived of liberty (PDL) who was jailed for 23 years despite a reduced sentence of only 30 days is finally free thanks to the Department of Justice Action Center.
Undersecretary Margarita Gutierrez, undersecretary-in-charge of the DOJ Action Center, said the woman was initially convicted of murder for killing her alleged rapist. Upon appeal, it was found she was only liable for the crime of less serious physical injuries which is punishable with 30 days sentence.
“Kaso, di siya na release kasi ‘yung isa niyang co-defendant nag automatic appeal so nadamay siya. Kailangang hintayin pa sa court ‘yung final conviction ng co-defendant niya bago siya ma-release so meron ganun technicality,” she said in an interview.
She said the DOJ Action Center, through its Katarungan Caravan, was able to work on the case and help the PDL file a habeas corpus petition.
“So convicted siya of murder, which was later modified to less serious physical injuries. Ngayon, laya na po siya,” she said.
Gutierrez said the Katarungan Caravan has helped free hundreds of elderly PDLs who should have been released for good conduct time allowance but have been unable to do so because they have no lawyers to help them.
One recent case was a a 70-year-old PDL who was freed after spending 26 years in jail on drug charges.
“May mga nakita kami na elderly PDLs na ripe for release kaso dahil sa dokumento o di sila aware kung ano ang gagawin, nag-o-overstay sila. Matagal na silang overstaying o di nila alam paano mag-apply,” she said.
Some PDLs, she said, have already served their sentences but are still in jail due to lack of paperwork because their lawyers have abandoned them. “Minsan inabandon na sila ng dati nilang abogado so wala silang paperworks na ipa-process," she said.
This is where volunteer lawyers of the Katarungan Caravan step in by threshing out the issues so the PDLs can go through the process of being freed.
The DOJ Action Center, with the help of the Bureau of Corrections, is targeting the release of 5,000 PDLs by the end of the year.
