Non-Institutional

Corrections
REVIEW NOTES
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Board of Pardons and Parole - was created pursuant to Act No. 4103, as amended. It is
the intent of the law to uplift and redeem valuable human material to economic
usefulness and to prevent unnecessary
and excessive deprivation of personal liberty.

      Functions
      1. To grant parole to qualified prisoners;

      2. To recommend to the President the grant of pardon and other

         forms of executive clemency;

      3. To authorize the transfer of residence of parolees and

         pardonees, order their arrest and recommitment, or grant
         their final release and discharge.

  
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      Basis for Grant of Parole

      1. The prisoner is fit to be released;

      2. There is a reasonable probability that, if released, he
        or she will live and remain at liberty without violating
         the law; and
      3. His or her release will not be incompatible with the
          welfare of society.

      How May Executive Clemency Be Exercised?

      1. Reprieve
      2. Absolute pardon
      3. Conditional pardon
      4. Commutation of sentence.
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      Commutation – refers to the reduction of the duration of a
      prison sentence of a prisoner.

      Commutation Allowed When:

      1. person is over 70 years old
      2. 8 justices fail to reach a decision affirming the
         death penalty

  Absolute Pardon - An act of grace, proceeding from the power

      entrusted with the execution of the laws, Exempts the individual
      from the penalty of the crime he has committed.
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Conditional Pardon - If delivered and accepted, it is a contract
      between the executive and the convict that the former will
      release the latter upon compliance with the condition.
      
Example of a condition:
            Not to violate any of the penal laws of the country again.

Reprieve - refers to the deferment of the implementation of

      the sentence for an interval of time; it does not annul the
      sentence but merely postpones or suspends its execution
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Basis for Grant of Executive Clemency

      The BPP recommends to the President the grant of executive

      clemency when any of the following circumstances are present:

      1. The trial or appellate court recommended in its decision

         the grant of executive clemency for the prisoner

      2. Under the peculiar circumstances of the case, the penalty

         imposed is too harsh compared to the  crime committed

      3. Offender qualifies as a youth offender at the time of the
         commission of the offence
   
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  4. Prisoner is seventy years old and above;

      5. Prisoner is terminally-ill;

      6. Alien prisoners where diplomatic considerations and amity

         among nations necessitate review and

      7. Other similar or analogous circumstances whenever the

         interest of justice will be served thereby
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When Applications for Executive Clemency will not Be
Favourably Acted Upon by The Board of Pardon and Parole

      1. Convicted of evasion of service of sentence;

      2. Who violated the conditions of their conditional pardon;

      3. Who are habitual delinquents or recidivists;

  
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4. Convicted of kidnapping for ransom;

      5. Convicted of violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972

         and the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002;

      6. Convicted of offences committed under the influence of drugs 

      7. Whose release from prison may constitute a danger to

society.
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     Issues Confronting The Philippine Corrections System

      1. Overcrowding of Certain Prison Institutions/Jails

      2. Fragmented Set-Up of the Corrections System

      3. Lack of Information Technology Systems and Expertise

      4. Lack of/Inadequate Training - lack of awareness and

         understanding by some prison/jail officials and staff on
         the rights of inmates.
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Petitions for parole shall be addressed to the Chairman or to
      the Executive Director of the Board. However, the Board may,
      motu proprio , consider cases for parole, commutation of
      sentence or conditional pardon of deserving prisoners whenever
      the interest of justice will be served thereby.
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Minimum Requirements A Prisoner Must Meet Before Petitions for
      executive clemency may be reviewed.
    
For Commutation of Sentence 

          1. The prisoner shall have served at least one-third (1/3)

             of the minimum of his indeterminate and/or definite
             sentence or the aggregate minimum of his indeterminate
             and/or definite sentences.

          2. At least ten (10) years for prisoners sentenced to

             Reclusion Perpetua or Life imprisonment for crimes or
             offenses committed before January 1, 1994.
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        3. At least twelve (12) years for prisoners whose sentences
             were adjusted to a definite prison term of forty (40)
             years in accordance with the provisions of Article 70
             of the Revised Penal Code, as amended.

          4. At least fifteen (15) years for prisoners convicted of

             heinous crimes as defined in Republic Act No. 7659 and
             other special laws committed on or after January 1, 1994
             and sentenced to one or more Reclusion Perpetua or Life
             imprisonment.

          5. At least twenty (20) years in case of one (1) or more

             Death penalty/penalties, which was/were automatically
             reduced or commuted to one (1) or more Reclusion Perpetua
             or Life imprisonment.
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           For Conditional Pardon

           The prisoner shall have served at least one-half (1/2) of

           the minimum of his original indeterminate and/or definite
           sentence. However, in the case of a prisoner who is convicted
           of a heinous crime as defined in Republic Act No. 7659 and
           other special laws, he shall have served at least one-half
           (1/2) of the maximum of his original indeterminate sentence
           before his case may be reviewed for conditional pardon.
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          For Absolute Pardon

After he has served his maximum sentence or granted final release and discharge or
court termination of probation. However, the Board may consider a petition for
absolute pardon even before the grant of final release and discharge under the
provisions of Section 6 of Act No. 4103, as amended, as when the petitioner: (1) is
seeking an appointive/elective public position or reinstatement in the
government service; (2) needs medical treatment abroad which is not available
locally; (3) will take any government examination; or (4) is emigrating.
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Prisoners who escaped or evaded service of sentence

are not eligible for executive clemency for a period of

one (1) year from the date of their last recommitment to

prison or conviction for evasion of service of sentence.

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Bureau of Correction - Where the penalty imposed exceeds three years,

the offender shall serve his or her sentence in the penal institutions
of the BuCor.

Carpeta - refers to the institutional record of an inmate which consists of his mittimus or
commitment order issued by the Court after conviction, the
prosecutor's information and the decisions of the trial court and the appellate court, if
any; certificate of non-appeal, certificate of detention and other pertinent documents
of the case. District Jail - is a cluster of small jails, each having a monthly average
population of ten or less inmates, and is located in the vicinity of the court.
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Jail - is defined as a place of confinement for inmates under

      investigation or undergoing trial, or serving short-term
      sentences.
           - Jails include provincial, district, city and municipal
             jails managed and supervised by the Provincial Government
             and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP),
             respectively, which are both under the Department of the
             Interior and Local Government.
      Municipal and city prisoners are committed to municipal, city
      or district jails managed by the BJMP.
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Prison -  refers to the national prisons or penitentiaries managed and supervised by the
Bureau of Corrections, an agency under the Department of Justice.

             - prison refers to the national prisons or penitentiaries managed and

supervised by the Bureau of Corrections, an agency under the Department of Justice.

Provincial Jail - Where the imposable penalty for the crime committed is more than
six months and the same was committed within the municipality, the offender must
serve his or her sentence in the provincial jail which is under the Office of
      the Governor.
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Executive Clemency - refers to Reprieve, Absolute Pardon, Conditional

Pardon with or without Parole Conditions and Commutation of Sentence
as may be granted by the President of the Philippines.

Indeterminate Sentence Law

     The indeterminate sentence is composed of:

     1. a MAXIMUM taken from the penalty imposable under the penal code
     2. a MINIMUM taken from the penalty next lower to that fixed in the code.
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     The law does not apply to certain offenders:

     1. Persons convicted of offense punished with death penalty or
        life imprisonment.
     2. Those convicted of treason, conspiracy or proposal to commit
        treason.
     3. Those convicted of misprision of treason, rebellion, sedition
        or espionage.
     4. Those convicted of piracy.
     5. Those who are habitual delinquents.
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6. Those who shall have escaped from confinement or evaded sentence.

     7. Those who violated the terms of conditional pardon granted to
        them by the Chief Executive.
     8. Those whose maximum term of imprisonment does not exceed one
year.
     9. Those who, upon the approval of the law, had been sentenced
        by final judgment.
     10. Those sentenced to the penalty of destierro or suspension.
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Purpose of the law: to uplift and redeem valuable human material and prevent
unnecessary and excessive deprivation of liberty and economic usefulness

- It is necessary to consider the criminal first as an individual, and second as a

member of the society.

- The law is intended to favor the defendant, particularly to shorten his term of
imprisonment, depending upon his behavior and his physical, mental and moral
record as a prisoner, to be determined by the Board of Indeterminate Sentence.
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The settled practice is to give the accused the benefit of the law even in
crimes punishable with death or life imprisonment provided the resulting
penalty, after considering the attending circumstances, is reclusion temporal
or less.

ISL does not apply to destierro. ISL is expressly granted to those who are
sentenced to imprisonment exceeding 1 year.
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Procedure For Determining The Maximum and Minimum Sentence

- It consists of a maximum and a minimum instead of a single fixed penalty.

- Prisoner must serve the minimum before he is eligible for parole.

- The period between the minimum and maximum is indeterminate in the sense that
the prisoner may be exempted from serving said indeterminate period in whole or in
part.
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- The maximum is determined in any case punishable under the RPC in accordance
with the rules and provisions of said code exactly as if the ISL had never been
enacted.

- Apply first the effect of privileged mitigating circumstances then consider the effects
of aggravating and ordinary mitigating circumstances.

- The minimum depends upon the court’s discretion with the limitation that it must be
within the range of the penalty next lower in degree to that prescribed by the Code for
the offense committed.
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Parole – The suspension of the sentence of the convict after serving

the minimum term of the intermediate penalty, without being granted a
pardon, prescribing the terms upon which the sentence shall be suspended.

       - May be given after the prisoner has served the minimum

         penalty; is granted by the Board of Pardons and Parole under the
         provisions of the Indeterminate Sentence Law.
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Disqualification for Parole - The following prisoners shall not be granted parole:

      1. Those convicted of an offense punished with Death penalty,

         Reclusion Perpetua or Life imprisonment;
      2. Those convicted of treason, conspiracy or proposal to commit
         treason or espionage;
      3. Those convicted of misprision of treason, rebellion, sedition
         or coup d'etat;
      4. Those convicted of piracy or mutiny on the high seas or
         Philippine waters;
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      5. Those who are habitual delinquents i.e. those who, within a period of ten (10) years from the
date of release from prison or last conviction of the crimes of serious or less serious physical
injuries, robbery, theft, estafa and falsification, are found guilty of any of said crimes a third time
or oftener;
6. Those who escaped from confinement or evaded sentence;
7. Those who were granted Conditional Pardon and violated any of the terms thereof;
8. Those whose maximum term of imprisonment does not exceed one (1) year or those with
definite sentence;
9. Those suffering from any mental disorder as certified by a government
psychiatrist/psychologist;
10.Those whose conviction is on appeal;
11.Those who have pending criminal case/s.
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Special Factors - The Board may give special consideration to the recommendation for
commutation of sentence or conditional pardon whenever any of the following
circumstances are present
      1. Youthful offenders;
      2. Prisoners who are sixty (60) years old and above;
      3. Physical disability such as when the prisoner is bedridden,
         a deaf mute, a leper, a cripple or is blind or similar
         disabilities;
      4. Serious illness and other life-threatening disease as
         certified by a government physician;
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5. Those prisoners recommended for the grant of executive clemency by the

trial/appellate court as stated in the decision;
6. Alien prisoners where diplomatic considerations and amity between nations
necessitate review;
7. Circumstances which show that his continued imprisonment will be inhuman or will
pose a grave danger to the life of the prisoner or his co-inmates; and,
8. Such other similar or analogous circumstances whenever the interest of justice will be
served thereby.
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Prison Record - refers to information concerning an inmate's personal

circumstances, the offense he committed, the sentence imposed,
the criminal case number in the trial and appellate courts, the date
he commenced serving his sentence, the date he was received for
confinement, the place of confinement, the date of expiration of
the sentence, the number of previous convictions, if any, and his
behaviour or conduct while in prison.
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Probation - is a disposition under which an accused, after conviction and sentence, is released
subject to conditions imposed by the court and to the supervision of a probation officer.

      Progress Report - refers to the report submitted by the

      Probation and Parole Officer on the conduct of the
      parolee/pardonee while under supervision.

      Infraction Report -  refers to the report submitted by the

      Probation and Parole Officer on violations committed by a
      parolee/pardonee of the conditions of his release on parole or
      conditional pardon while under supervision.

      Summary Report - refers to the final report submitted by the

      Probation and Parole Officer on his supervision of a
      parolee/pardonee as basis for the latter's final release
      and discharge.
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Sentence - in law, is the penalty imposed by the court in a criminal

case against a person, known as the “accused”, who is found guilty
of committing the crime charged.
‘
Youth Offender - is defined as a child, minor or youth who is over nine
years but under eighteen years of age at the time of the commission
of the offense.
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