FORMER Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Romeo Jalosjos is one of the 36 applicants on the list for presidential pardon published by the Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP).
The 76-year-old former lawmaker is seeking absolute pardon for his statutory rape conviction.
Jalosjos was sentenced by the Regional Trial Court in Makati City to serve two life terms for raping an 11-year-old girl twice in 1996.
He was granted clemency in 2007 by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo through commutation of his sentence to 16 years.
Jalosjos was initially released from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in December 2007 after the grant, but was returned to incarceration after a month, as he was found to have not yet completed his commuted sentence.
He was finally released from the NBP in March 2009 after serving the maximum sentence of 16 years, three months and three days, as commuted, including additional good- conduct time allowance of one year, six months and 17 days.
Jalosjos joined the mayoralty race in May 2013, but was disqualified by the Commission on Elections.
The BPP, an attached agency of the Department of Justice, is tasked to screen the applicants for pardon, and submit recommendations for approval by the President.
The publication of the names officially started the BPP’s vetting process for the eligibility of the applicants.
“Any interested party may send his or her written objections/comments/information relevant to the cases of above-named prisoners to the undersigned not later than 30 days from date of publication,” BPP Executive Director Reynaldo Bayang said.
Executive clemency is a power of the President to pardon any prisoner, provided for under Article VII, Section 19 of the Constitution and pertains to reprieve, absolute or conditional pardon with or without parole conditions and commutation of sentence. Parole is the conditional release of a prisoner from a correctional institution after they have served the minimum of their sentence.
Around 127 elderly inmates were granted pardon and 1,245 were granted parole under the first seven months of President Duterte.
Earlier Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II said he made the recommendations for presidential pardon upon endorsement by the BPP after reviewing the eligibility of the inmates in the list.
“This is in line with the President’s pronouncement to decongest the high volume of persons deprived of liberty, relatively bigger than what our prison facilities can accomodate and the prompt release of deserving prisoners for parole, pardon, and the end of sentence with correct computations of good conduct and allowances,” Aguirre said.
The DOJ chief indicated those discharged on parole “shall be automatically released from prison upon the award of the papers to them.”
While out on parole, the parolees will be placed under the supervision of the DOJ’s Parole and Probation Administration (PPA) until they reached the maximum period of their prison sentences.
However, the DOJ warned that any violation of the parole conditions “shall be a ground for recommitment in prison upon the recommendation of PPA and approval of the BPP.”
For his part, DOJ Undersecretary Reynante Orceo said the agency wants to standardize the computation of good conduct and time allowances to hasten the release of elderly inmates in line with the executive clemency ordered by President Duterte.
Orceo said the carpeta or the record of inmates’ sentences both from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penelogy (BJMP) and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) must be standardized.
The BJMP is under the Department of Interior and Local Government while the BuCor is under the DOJ.