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Republic Act 10592 or the law amending some of the provisions of the revised penal code to increase the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) that a prisoner may receive is now at the center of controversy.
The aborted release of convicted murderer-rapist former Calauan, Laguna mayor Antonio Sanchez has resulted in public outrage.
But can a prisoner convicted of a heinous crime be credited GCTA and his sentence reduced?
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila College of Law dean Atty George Erwin Garcia said RA 10592 has two parts wherein the sentence of a person deprived of liberty may be reduced.
First is the Preventive imprisonment deduction wherein the accused has shown good behavior while still on trial and the Supreme Court has not issued its final decision on the case.
Under this, in case the accused is sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and has been serving 5 years prison time while on trial, that 5 years served can be commuted to the total years of the sentence.
“Subalit iyang preventive imprisonment deduction ay hindi applicable sa mga taong ang tawag ay recidivist, habitual deliquent–iyong laging nagcocommit ng krimen, iyong isa naman escapee, tumakas eh. Ang isa naman nakasuhan ng tinatawag na heinous crime. Kapag nakasuhan siya ng heinous crime automatically hindi siya makakpagpabawas ng taon,” Atty. Garcia added.
The second part of the amended law covers good conduct time allowance.
Under this, a convict, whatever his or her case is, maybe awarded GCTA credit depending on his behavior while in prison.
“Halimbawa sa 30 araw sa isang buwan kapag dumating ka sa certain period ng pagkakakulong mo alam mo bang maaaring maisilbi mo na lamang sa 30 araw ay 10 araw. Iyong 20 araw minus na lang ng minus iyon,” he said.
However, prisoners who had been credited GCTA on a certain month, and all of a sudden, commits violation on the next month, must be deducted GCTA credit on that month, based on what the law says.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently reviewing the guidelines of the GCTA relative to the said scenario.
Meanwhile, Atty. Garcia said that in case the GCTA will be rendered nullified, thousands of inmates will be affected.
He added that it will not be fair to those who were released due to good behavior if they will be sent back to prison because the guidelines were revised.
“Pwede mo ba silang hulihin uli? Hindi. Kasi whatever is unfavorable to the accused cannot be applied to the accused,” Garcia said. (with details from Mai Bermudez) /mbmf
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