A debate on the implementation of a law that increases the good conduct time

allowance (GCTA) of prisoners ensued after the earlier reported pending release
of convicted rapist-murderer former Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez. The
Justice Department and Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) initially identified
Sanchez as among the 11,000 inmates who may walk free from prison in the
next two months.

Republic Act 10592 was enacted in 2013, amending RA 3815 or the Revised
Penal Code (RPC). The law increased the GCTA of prisoners to be credited in
the service of their sentence. Last June, the Supreme Court (SC) ruled that the
law should apply retroactively.

Some lawmakers, including Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, are
calling for a review of the law.

But what exactly is GCTA? Can all prisoners benefit from it?

Here are four things you should know.

What is good conduct time allowance?

Good conduct time allowance or GCTA is a sentence reduction provision

afforded prisoners who show good behavior.

It has been in existence since 1906. Act 1533 provided for the “diminution of
sentences imposed upon prisoners” in consideration of good conduct and
diligence.

Citing a 1908 decision, the SC said the law served a double purpose: to
“encourage the convict in an effort to reform” and “induce…habits of industry
and good conduct” in the person beyond one’s sentence, and “aid to discipline”
various jails and penitentiaries.

Twenty-four years later, the RPC, a legal code governing crimes and their
punishment, was signed into law, incorporating good conduct time allowances
for “any prisoner in any penal situation.”

What is RA 10592 and how does it work?

In May 2013, then President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III signed RA 10592,
amending Articles 29, 94, 97, 98, and 99 of the RPC, which sought to:
 expand the application of the GCTA to those under preventive imprisonment or
those detained prior and during criminal trial, who are deemed too dangerous
for release;
 increase the number of days that may be credited for GCTA;
 allow an additional sentence deduction of 15 days for each month of study,
teaching, or mentoring service; and
 expand the special time allowance for loyalty and make it applicable to those
under preventive imprisonment.

In cases of “special circumstances,” such as calamities, prisoners who, after

evading preventive imprisonment or the service of their sentence, give
themselves up to authorities within 48 hours after the “circumstance” had
passed, will get a “loyalty” deduction of one-fifth of their sentence.

This means, prisoners who have evaded service due to fire, earthquake,
explosion, or other catastrophes must surrender within two days from
authorities’ declaration that such events are no longer present to qualify for the
loyalty deduction.

Section 5 of the law says the BuCor director, the Bureau of Jail Management
and Penology chief, and/or the warden of a provincial, district, municipal or city
jail “shall grant allowances for good conduct.”

Last June, the SC granted the petition filed by New Bilibid Prison inmates,
voiding Sec. 4, Rule 1 of RA 10592 Implementing Rules and Regulations
(IRR), which states that the grant of time allowance of prisoners for good
conduct, study, teaching, and mentoring service, and loyalty “shall be
prospective in application.”

The High Court ruled that the law should be applied retroactively, meaning
those detained or convicted before RA 10592 was passed should also be
covered by, and, therefore, potentially benefit from, the law.

The ruling is in accordance with Article 22 of the RPC, which states that penal
laws “shall have a retroactive effect insofar as they favor the persons guilty of
the felony, who is not a habitual criminal.”

Who can benefit from the law?

Inmates who display “good behavior and [have] no record of breach of

discipline or violation of prison rules and regulations” may be eligible for
GCTA, according to the BuCor operating manual, as cited in the SC decision.

The IRR of RA 10592 defines good behavior as:

“the conspicuous and satisfactory behavior of a detention or convicted prisoner
consisting of active involvement in rehabilitation programs, productive
participation in authorized work activities or accomplishment of exemplary
deeds coupled with faithful obedience to all prison/jail rules and regulations”

Source: Supreme Court, G.R. No. 212719/G.R. No. 214637, June 25, 2019
Over the past years, Sanchez was found to have violated jail policies, according
to reports from Philstar.com, Rappler, and CNN Philippines.

In 2006, a complaint was filed against Sanchez for allegedly possessing shabu
and marijuana.

In 2010, a kilo of shabu worth P1.5 million was discovered in one of the
Blessed Virgin Mary statues inside his cell. Five years later, an air-conditioner,
flat-screen television, and refrigerator were seized from his cell.

Sanchez also tested positive for illegal drug use, according to a BuCor report.

Who are excluded from the law?

Recidivists or those who “have been convicted previously twice or more times
of any crime,” habitual delinquents, escapees and persons charged with heinous
crimes are excluded from its coverage, according to section 1 of RA 10592.

The law, as well as RPC, however, does not define what constitutes a “heinous
crime.”

Under RA 7659 or the Death Penalty Act, heinous crimes are:

“grievous, odious and hateful offenses and which, by reason of their inherent or
manifest wickedness, viciousness, atrocity and perversity are repugnant and
outrageous to the common standards and norms of decency and morality in a
just, civilized and ordered society.”
The Death Penalty Act, which was repealed in 2006, classified murder and rape
as “heinous crimes” that may be punishable by death.

In 1995, Sanchez and six others were sentenced to seven terms of reclusion
perpetua, for the brutal rape and murder of University of the Philippines Los
Baños student Eileen Sarmenta and for the torture and murder of Allan Gomez,
another student, two years prior.

Under the RPC, the maximum detention period is 40 years, regardless of the
number of terms that one must serve. This means Sanchez will serve only 40
years in prison at most, even if he was sentenced to seven terms of life
imprisonment.

In 1996, the court convicted Sanchez and three others of double murder of
father and son Nelson and Rickson Peñalosa. Sanchez was already in jail then
for the rape-slay of Sarmenta and the killing of Gomez, according
to Inquirer.net, Philstar.com, and ABS-CBN News.

In 1999, the SC affirmed the lower courts’ rulings against Sanchez for the
Sarmenta-Gomez rape-slay and the Peñalosas slay cases.
What is RA 10592?
The law was enacted by former President Benigno Aquino III, amending several
parts of the Revised Penal Code. These include section 97, which tackles the
good conduct time allowance (GCTA) for prisoners who behaved while in
detention.
RA 10592 at least doubled the previous GCTAs and expanded the time
allowances to those who are under preventive imprisonment.
Under the policy, GCTAs are granted to prisoners based on the following
measures:
- During the first two years of imprisonment: 20 days of deduction for each
month of good behavior
- During the third to the fifth year: a reduction of 23 days for each month of
good behavior
- During the following years until the 10th year: 25 days of deduction for each
month of good behavior
- During the 11th and successive years: 30 days of deduction for each month of
good behavior
- Another deduction of 15 days for each month of study, teaching or mentoring
The director of the Bureau of Corrections, the chief of the Bureau of Jail
Management and Penology and/or the jail warden can grant a GCTA. It cannot
be revoked once granted, according to the law.
In March 2014, then Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Interior Secretary Mar
Roxas II jointly released the implementing rules and regulations for the policy,
directing that it should be applied prospectively. This means that only those
who were convicted during and after the time of the application of the law
should be eligible for the expanded time allowances.
However, the Supreme Court in June 25 favored a petition by inmates of New
Bilibid Prison calling for the retroactive application of the measure. This
allowed those who were convicted from way back 1990, like Sanchez, to benefit
from the GCTA.
The high court asserted that it did not order the release of Sanchez when it ruled
for the retroactive application, saying it only interpreted the law.
SC public information office chief Brian Keith Hosaka said the decision was
based on the “fundamental doctrine in criminal law that penal laws when
favorable and advantageous to the accused should be applied retroactively.”
Who will benefit?
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said around 200 persons deprived of liberty
may be released per day with the retroactive implementation of the law.
These include both high- and low-profile prisoners.
“Everyone imprisoned by final judgment before 2013 is entitled to a re-
computation of GCTAs earned, if any,” Guevarra said. “Whether they are high-
profile or low-profile, lahat sila makikinabang sa batas (all of them will benefit
from the law).”
Are there exemptions?
There are, however, exemptions to the law.
“’Yung recidivists and those repeat offenders are excluded from the benefit of
the law… So if he is found to have or to fall under that category, then he might
be excluded from the benefit, he might be ineligible to avail of the benefits of
the law,” Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete told CNN Philippines’ The
Source.
Bureau of Corrections chief Nicanor Faeldon also said those who committed
heinous crimes and/or violated the rules in detention are not eligible for the time
allowances.
“If you engage in like trade of drugs or if you keep drugs in your cells, and you
violate some prison rules. One of the 49 violations of prison rules is when you
live luxuriously inside our facilities. So when you build your kubol and you live
luxuriously inside your kubol, luxurious living is one of the violations,” Faeldon
told The Source in a separate interview.