Probation, parole: good convicts’ 

Options to ‘escape’ from prison 

TAGBILARAN CITY, July 18 (PIA)—If there is a reasonable probability that, when released from prison, a prisoner will be law-abiding and such would not run contrary to the general welfare, then the government offers two options: parole and probation. 

The government still believes that there is innate goodness in man, sums up Parole and Probation Officer (PPO) Raquelito Rollan that he said we need to believe that not all criminals had the full intent of committing a crime. 

There are times when one is pushed to the limits by circumstance, PPO hinted, that a person commits a crime but is he intrinsically good, that he must be given a second chance, Rollan, who also sits as the regional PPO information officer added. 

A person who is convicted of a criminal offense, above 17 years old, or those sentences to imprisonment for a year or less, a straight penalty or a prison sentence without minimum terms can either be granted probation or parole, as the court may decide. 

By so doing, instead of a person languishing in jail and the government spending for his confinement, the convict can enjoy his limited freedom outside the jail, subject to the conditions that the courts may impose. 

“This is through probation or parole,” adds Fe Parido, supervising Probation and Parole Officer of Tagbilaran District. 

However, those who are sentenced by the appropriate court to serve a maximum imprisonment term of more than 6 years, those convicted of a crime against national security, those sentenced to imprisonment of not more than 6 months and one day or those convicted to pay a fine of not more than Php1,000.00, former probation beneficiaries and those who were already serving sentence prior to the applicability of the provisions of the probation law, are disqualified. 

On the case of convicts sentenced to imprisonment of 1 year or less, a straight penalty or to those sentenced to a prison term without minimum term of imprisonment, they can apply for parole, reminds Parido. 

Parole, she said, is a conditional release of a prisoner from the correctional institution, having served the minimum term of imprisonment. 

While probation can be a privilege for those who have yet to serve their sentences, granted by the courts, a parole can be had by a convict having already served half the period of his prison sentence and is granted by the Board of Pardons and Parole; an agency under the Office of the Secretary of Justice. 

But Rollan clarified: a convict can only be granted parole when the Bureau of Pardons and Parole finds that there is a reasonable probability that, when the prisoner is released, he will become law abiding and the release would not be contrary to the public welfare. 

Speaking at the Kapihan sa PIA, both Rollan and Parido bared that both probation and parole grantees own some limited freedom outside of prison, and are required to follow certain conditions or be arrested and criminally persecuted, recommitted to prison and be made to serve the unexpired portion of the sentence imposed. 

Other than probation and parole, a convict can also file for a petition for commutation of sentence and pardon or otherwise executive clemency, which the President grants, to be off the cramped and discomforting jail conditions. (rahc/PIA7/Bohol) 

Parole and probation officer Raquelito Rollan bared at the Kapihan sa PIA that convicted criminals who are to serve their terms in prison may not have to serve his court sentence inside a prison facility if the courts would decide to allow him to go for probation. Convicted criminals who have also served half the term of their sentence can also apply for parole and continue serving their sentence outside the jails and under the supervision of parole and probation officers. This is a way for the government to decongest the jails, he added. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

Parole and probation officer Raquelito Rollan bared at the Kapihan sa PIA that convicted criminals who are to serve their terms in prison may not have to serve his court sentence inside a prison facility if the courts would decide to allow him to go for probation. Convicted criminals who have also served half the term of their sentence can also apply for parole and continue serving their sentence outside the jails and under the supervision of parole and probation officers. This is a way for the government to decongest the jails, he added. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)