DOJ to review law on good conduct time allowance

FILE:  Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete in an ambush interview with reporters on Wednesday (Nov. 21, 2018). (Photo by Benjamin Pulta)

MANILA – The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday announced that it will review the contentious implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 10592 which provides for the grant of good conduct time allowance (GCTA) to prisoners.

Justice Department spokesperson, Undersecretary Markk Perete clarified that the 10-day review period will include talks with other concerned agencies.

“The 10-day period is our target time frame to complete the review of the IRR. But we need to first discuss this with the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government). The reckoning date will depend on the agreement with the concerned offices.

But we wanted a short duration of the review so as not to unduly delay the processing of inmates who truly deserve to benefit from the law,” Perete said.

In a radio interview, Perete said the agency is considering making public the list of around 200 inmates who have already benefitted from the legislation which was construed by a June 25 Supreme Court (SC) ruling to benefit prisoners retroactively to those convicted before it was passed in 2013.

“Once we do get the confirmation the exact number and who these are, then we would be able to sort through and possibly share if it is of public interest,” Perete said.

“I don’t see any compelling reason not to divulge but again we have to see first (the) list because hindi pa sa amin yan umaakyat (it has not reached us yet).”

Perete said the entire processing of the GCTA of inmates is left to the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

RA 10592 provides guidelines on computing the GCTA of an inmate from his or her total sentence. It covers both detention prisoners and those who are convicted.

Over the weekend, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra confirmed that they will be formally informing the High Court of the review period as well as other developments in the implementation of the law.

Preventive imprisonment is managed in jails run by the DILG, through the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), which controls all city, district, and municipal jails nationwide.

Convicts, on the other hand, are imprisoned in facilities run by the DOJ through the BuCor.

The impending review of the law’s IRR came in the wake of public uproar following earlier reports that convicted rapist and murderer, former Calauan, Laguna mayor Antonio Sanchez is among those who will be entitled to an early release from prison due to the SC ruling.

The High Court was quick to clarify that it did not order to release Sanchez and that it merely interpreted the law.

In an earlier statement, the DILG said it supports the DOJ’s position that the former Calauan mayor is ineligible to avail of GCTA because “he is categorically excluded to benefit under the law’s coverage.”

“We support DOJ’s stand on the issue as the law is categorical in excluding recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapees, and persons charged with heinous crimes from the benefits of its coverage,” DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said.