More than 4K qualified PDLs take part in polls

VOTING IN PRISON. Qualified inmates vote at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City on Monday (May 12, 2025). The Bureau of Corrections said 4,125 PDLs were qualified to vote in various prisons and penal farms nationwide. (PNA photo by Ben Pulta)

By Benjamin Pulta, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The country’s largest penal facility on Monday successfully conducted an election exercise for qualified persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia inspected the conduct of the elections at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City, where 2,135 inmates were qualified to vote.

Election observers from the European Union were also allowed to inspect the conduct of the elections inside the NBP.

The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said 4,125 PDLs were qualified to vote in various prisons and penal farms, including the NBP, across the country.

The others are in Davao Prison and Penal Farm (924), Leyte Regional Prison (421), San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga del Sur (290), Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Princesa, Palawan (140), Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City (123), and CIW-Mindanao (92).

Qualified PDLs who are allowed to register and vote include those confined in jail or those formally charged for any crime and awaiting/undergoing trial; those serving a sentence of imprisonment for less than one year; those whose conviction of a crime involving disloyalty to the duly constituted government, such as rebellion, sedition, violation of the firearms laws, or any crime against national security or for any other crime that is on appeal.

Last December, the BuCor signed a memorandum of agreement with the Comelec, Public Attorney’s Office, and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology to promote and implement an inclusive voting environment for PDLs in the 2025 National and Local Election, Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections, and subsequent elections.