Muntinlupa City: 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.

According to Philippines News Agency, election observers from the European Union were also allowed to inspect the conduct of the elections inside the NBP. The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) reported that a total of 4,125 PDLs were qualified to vote in various prisons and penal farms across the country, including the NBP. The other facilities with eligible voters include Davao Prison and Penal Farm with 924, Leyte Regional Prison with 421, San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga del Sur with 290, Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Princesa, Palawan with 140, Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City with 123, and CIW-Mindanao with 92.

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