Manila, July 2 -- The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) vowed to continue its intensified commitment to the humane safekeeping and improvement of the lives of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) under its care.

During its 34th founding anniversary Wednesday, BJMP chief Jail Director Ruel Rivera said jail congestion further eased as about 85,183 PDL were released in the past year, through legal aid and paralegal services, in partnership with the Supreme Court, Public Attorney's Office (PAO), Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), and law schools nationwide.

He also said the decline in the national jail overcrowding rate, from 358 percent in 2023 to 296 percent in 2025, was made possible through intensified paralegal assistan...