Manila, Jul 2 (IANS): The Philippines has released a total of 15,322 prisoners amid a rising number of Covid-19 cases, officials said on Thursday.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) of the Philippines said these inmates called "persons deprived of liberty" jailed in the facilities run by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, were freed from March 17 to June 22, Xinhua reported.

The majority of the freed prisoners are "elderly and have committed light or bailable offences," the DILG said in a statement.

It further said the freed inmates were from Metro Manila and several jail facilities across the country.

As of July 2, the DILG said some 783 inmates throughout the country have contracted the virus. It said 549 inmates have recovered.

The DILG also said that 135 jail personnel have also been infected but 90 of them have recovered.

The Philippines now has 38,805 confirmed Covid-19 cases, including 10,673 recoveries and 1,274 deaths.