MANILA — Some officials are looking at the possibility of decriminalizing libel, abortion, and dueling as one of the solutions to decongest jails in the country.

At the National Decongestion Summit attended Wednesday by officials of the legislative, executive, and judiciary branches of government, a comprehensive review of the classification of crimes as capital and non-bailable has been recommended.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez said the Revised Penal Code needs an overhaul to decongest jails.

"This review will assess the deterrent effect of these classifications and consider the decriminalization of certain offenses like libel, abortion, and dueling," he said.

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Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said the decriminalization of certain offenses would be studied as he also registered his position on abortion.

"Pag-aralan natin. I don’t want to make a comment at this point in time. Pag-aralan nating mabuti but personally, I am anti-abortion, all life for me is sacred at any moment of conception," Zubiri said.

According to the Justice Sector Coordinating Council, of the 199,000 persons deprived of liberty, 70 percent undergo preventive detention and 30 percent represent those already convicted and sentenced.

In jails managed by the Bureau of Jail Management, the current congestion rate is at 386 percent.

Decriminalization of certain offenses is one of the short-term and long-term solutions to decongest jails and prisons. This also includes removing quotas for arrests among law enforcement agencies.

Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo did not comment on the decriminalization of certain offenses but he stressed that there are many reforms to be expected in the country's penal system.

"Marami kaming ginagawa sa Supreme Court. Number one, for example, we are revising the rules on criminal procedures to ensure that criminal cases are processed expeditiously from the beginning of the case up to the end," Gesmundo said.

Australian Ambassador to the Philippines HK Yu also stressed the need for reforms in the rehabilitation of prisoners, including terrorists.

"If we do not get this right, those terrorists who are stuck in jail could potentially come out just as extreme, and in fact in worse case scenarios even radicalize others, and in an overcrowded jail it is difficult to achieve rehabilitation," Yu said.

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