The Supreme Court has ruled that the number of days credited to prisoners for their good conduct, such as studying, teaching, and mentoring services and loyalty should be retroactive in application under the law that became effective on Oct. 10, 2013.
In an en banc decision, the SC declared that all prisoners, regardless of whether they are already serving their sentence or undergoing preventive imprisonment shall be qualified for the reduction of their sentence even before Oct. 10, 2013 pursuant to the time allowances under Republic Act No. 10592.
The 15-member bench through Associate Justice Diosdado M. Peralta stressed that the increased time allowances given to qualified prisoners would bring about a substantial reduction in their penalties “which eventually will result in the decongestion of the jail system in the country.”
“The prospective application of the beneficial provisions of RA 10592 actually works to the disadvantage of petitioners and those who are similarly situated. It precludes the decrease in the penalty attached to their respective crimes and lengthens their prison stay; thus, making more onerous the punishment for the crimes committed,” the SC said.
“Depriving them of time off to which they are justly entitled as a practical matter results in extending their sentence and increasing their punishment. Evidently, this transgresses the clear mandate of Article 22 of the RPC,” the high court added.
Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin, Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio, and Associate Justices Mariano C. Del Castillo, Estela M. Perlas-Bernabe, Marvic Mario Victor F. Leonen, Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, Andres B. Reyes, Jr., Alexander G. Gesmundo, Jose C. Reyes, Jr., Ramon Paul L. Hernando, Rosmari D. Carandang, Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, and Henri Jean Paul B. Inting concurred in the decision. Associate Justice Francis H. Jardeleza was on official leave of absence when the petitions were tackled in a full court session.
RA 10592 amended several provisions in the Revised Penal Code (RPC) and authorized the credit of preventive imprisonment and revision of good conduct time allowance of persons deprived of liberty.
It expanded the application of good conduct time allowance (GCTA) for prisoners even during preventive suspension, increased the number of days for GCTA, allowed additional deduction of 15 days each month of for time allowance for study, teaching or mentoring service (TASTM), and expanded the special time allowance for loyalty (STAL) even during preventive suspension.
But the rules and regulations promulgated by the Department of Justice and the Department of Interior and Local Government in 2014 mandated the prospective application of the provisions in the law.
Because of this, several petitions were filed before the Supreme Court assailing the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of RA 10592, specifically Section 4 of Rule 1 on prospective application.
The petitioners told the SC that the prospective application in the IRR of the law violates Article 22 of the RPC which provides for retroactive effect of penal laws.
The SC decision dated June 25, 2019 and made public on Monday (July 1) declared invalid Section 4, Rule 1 of the IRR “in so far as the said IRR provided for the prospective application of the grant of time allowance of prisoners” for GCTA, TASTM, and STAL.
The ruling stated that “while RA 10592 does not define a crime/offense or provide/prescribe a penalty as it addresses the rehabilitation component of our correctional system, its provisions have the purpose and effect of diminishing the punishment attached to the crime.”
It said that “the further reduction of the length of the penalty of imprisonment is, in the ultimate analysis, beneficial to the detention and convicted prisoners alike; hence, calls for the application of Article 22 of the RPC.”
