The Department of Justice (DOJ) conducted an ocular inspection of the Maximum Security Compound of New Bilibid Prison (NBP), which currently has a 35% congestion rate. (File photo by TETCH TORRES-TUPAS / INQUIRER.net)
MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that the Department of Justice (DOJ) exceeded its power by excluding persons convicted of heinous crimes from the benefits of the Expanded Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) Law (Republic Act No. 10592)
The Expanded GCTA Law has increased the reward of time that is shaved off a person deprived of liberty (PDL) prison term.
However, several provisions of the 2019 Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) issued by the DOJ excluded from the benefit of GCTA recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapees, and heinous crime convicts.
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Recidivists are people who, at the time of their trial for one crime, have been previously convicted by final judgment of another crime under the same title of the Revised Penal Code.
On the other hand, a habitual delinquent is a person who, within 10 years of release from prison or last conviction of physical injury, robbery, theft, estafa, and falsification, is found guilty of a similar offense for the third time.
The SC pointed out that Article 97 of the Revised Penal Code, which was amended by the Expanded GCTA law, “is clear that any convicted prisoner is entitled to GCTA as long as the prisoner is in any penal institution, rehabilitation or detention center or any other local jail.”
The SC made the ruling after Bilibid inmates challenged the legality of the specific IRR provisions.
The DOJ and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) reviewed the IRR in 2019 following reports that former Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez, who was meted with nine penalties of reclusion perpetua, would be released from prison because of good conduct.
Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director Gregorio Pio Catapang earlier said allowing PDLs convicted of heinous crimes to benefit from GCTA could reduce the prison population by around 10,000 to 15,000.