MEMORANDUM

To:
From:
Re: Legal Research of R.A. 10592 as applied to the case of Mike and Freddie
Date: 16 October 2019

I. Introduction
On May 29, 2013, then-president Benigno Aquino III signs Republic Act No.
10592 or the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law, which amended several
articles under the Revised Penal Code, including Article 97, which lays out the
allowance for good conduct for persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).

The GCTA law allows for a reduction of sentences of PDLs, depending on how
well they abide by rules and regulations inside “any penal institution, rehabilitation, or
detention center or any other local jail.”

REPUBLIC ACT No. 10592

AN ACT AMENDING ARTICLES 29, 94, 97, 98 AND 99 OF ACT NO. 3815, AS
AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE REVISED PENAL CODE

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in

Congress assembled:

Section 1. Article 29 of Act No. 3815, as amended, otherwise known as the Revised
Penal Code, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"ART. 29. Period of preventive imprisonment deducted from term of imprisonment. –

Offenders or accused who have undergone preventive imprisonment shall be credited in
the service of their sentence consisting of deprivation of liberty, with the full time during
which they have undergone preventive imprisonment if the detention prisoner agrees
voluntarily in writing after being informed of the effects thereof and with the assistance
of counsel to abide by the same disciplinary rules imposed upon convicted prisoners,
except in the following cases:

"1. When they are recidivists, or have been convicted previously twice or more times of
any crime; and

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"2. When upon being summoned for the execution of their sentence they have failed to
surrender voluntarily.

"If the detention prisoner does not agree to abide by the same disciplinary rules
imposed upon convicted prisoners, he shall do so in writing with the assistance of a
counsel and shall be credited in the service of his sentence with four-fifths of the time
during which he has undergone preventive imprisonment.

"Credit for preventive imprisonment for the penalty of reclusion perpetua shall be
deducted from thirty (30) years.1âwphi1

"Whenever an accused has undergone preventive imprisonment for a period equal to

the possible maximum imprisonment of the offense charged to which he may be
sentenced and his case is not yet terminated, he shall be released immediately without
prejudice to the continuation of the trial thereof or the proceeding on appeal, if the same
is under review. Computation of preventive imprisonment for purposes of immediate
release under this paragraph shall be the actual period of detention with good conduct
time allowance: Provided, however, That if the accused is absent without justifiable
cause at any stage of the trial, the court may motu proprio order the rearrest of the
accused: Provided, finally, That recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapees and persons
charged with heinous crimes are excluded from the coverage of this Act. In case the
maximum penalty to which the accused may be sentenced is lestierro, he shall be
released after thirty (30) days of preventive imprisonment."

Section 2. Article 94 of the same Act is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"ART. 94. Partial extinction of criminal liability. – Criminal liability is extinguished

partially:

"1. By conditional pardon;

"2. By commutation of the sentence; and

"3. For good conduct allowances which the culprit may earn while he is undergoing
preventive imprisonment or serving his sentence."

Section 3. Article 97 of the same Act is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"ART. 97. Allowance for good conduct. – The good conduct of any offender qualified for
credit for preventive imprisonment pursuant to Article 29 of this Code, or of any
convicted prisoner in any penal institution, rehabilitation or detention center or any other
local jail shall entitle him to the following deductions from the period of his sentence:

"1. During the first two years of imprisonment, he shall be allowed a deduction of twenty
days for each month of good behavior during detention;
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"2. During the third to the fifth year, inclusive, of his imprisonment, he shall be allowed a
reduction of twenty-three days for each month of good behavior during detention;

"3. During the following years until the tenth year, inclusive, of his imprisonment, he
shall be allowed a deduction of twenty-five days for each month of good behavior during
detention;

"4. During the eleventh and successive years of his imprisonment, he shall be allowed a
deduction of thirty days for each month of good behavior during detention; and

"5. At any time during the period of imprisonment, he shall be allowed another deduction
of fifteen days, in addition to numbers one to four hereof, for each month of study,
teaching or mentoring service time rendered.

"An appeal by the accused shall not deprive him of entitlement to the above allowances
for good conduct."

Section 4. Article 98 of the same Act is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"ART. 98. Special time allowance for loyalty. – A deduction of one fifth of the period of
his sentence shall be granted to any prisoner who, having evaded his preventive
imprisonment or the service of his sentence under the circumstances mentioned in
Article 158 of this Code, gives himself up to the authorities within 48 hours following the
issuance of a proclamation announcing the passing away of the calamity or catastrophe
referred to in said article. A deduction of two-fifths of the period of his sentence shall be
granted in case said prisoner chose to stay in the place of his confinement
notwithstanding the existence of a calamity or catastrophe enumerated in Article 158 of
this Code.

"This Article shall apply to any prisoner whether undergoing preventive imprisonment or
serving sentence."

Section 5. Article 99 of the same Act is hereby further amended to read as follows:"

"ART. 99. Who grants time allowances. – Whenever lawfully justified, the Director of the
Bureau of Corrections, the Chief of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology
and/or the Warden of a provincial, district, municipal or city jail shall grant allowances for
good conduct. Such allowances once granted shall not be revoked."

Facts: Convicted murderers, Mike and Freddie, is involved in the infamous Sleepaway
Camp case. Earlier, they walked out of prison on good conduct time allowance credits
based on a memorandum signed by their Jail Warden.

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 When news broke out that other sinister convicts were to be released on GCTA,
there was a public outcry. In response, the President, in a public statement, demanded
those released to immediately surrender or he will hunt them down. Mike later
surrendered to the Bureau of Corrections, but Freddie is still at large.

II. Question/Issues

a) Whether or not Mike and Freddie can benefit from R.A. 10592 and its
implementing rules and regulations.

b) Whether or not Freddie, who was released and granted time allowances by
his Jail Warden under R.A. 10592, be lawfully arrested if he refuses to
surrender.

c) What legal remedy can be pursued to help Mike and Freddie secure their
liberty under the law?

III. Brief Answers

a) No, according to the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of

the Good Conduct Time Allowance law (GCTA law) released on 16
September 2019.

b) Yes, according to the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of

the Good Conduct Time Allowance law (GCTA law) released on 16
September 2019.

c) Find out if they were convicted before the law became effective in 2013 for
they shall be entitled to good conduct time allowance under the Revised
Penal Code (2nd paragraph, Section 1, Rule XIII). However, if Freddie will
remain at large, he will not be granted of GCTA.

IV. Discussion

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Interior and Local
Government (DILG) have revised the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the
Good Conduct Time Allowance law (GCTA law).

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 The new IRR of Republic Act 10592 or the GCTA law now categorically excludes
heinous crime convicts from the benefits of the GCTA Law.

Here are the salient amendments in the new IRR:

1. Recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapees, those charged with heinous crimes and
an accused who, upon being summoned for the execution of his sentence has failed to
surrender voluntarily before a court of law, are excluded from good conduct time
allowance under RA 10592 (Section 2, Rule IV)

2. Prisoners disqualified under RA 10592, such as heinous crime convicts, but who
were convicted before the law became effective in 2013 shall be entitled to good
conduct time allowance under the Revised Penal Code (2nd paragraph, Section 1, Rule
XIII)

3. Prisoners disqualified under RA 10592, such as heinous crime convicts, and who
were convicted after the law became effective in 2013, shall not be entitled to any type
of good conduct time allowance (3rd paragraph, Section 1, Rule XIII)

4. Heinous crimes are the same heinous crimes defined under Republic Act 7659 or the
now-repealed death penalty law. It is the DOJ's view that RA 7659 was repealed only
insofar as imposing the death penalty, but not the definition of heinous crimes (Section
1n, Rule II)

5. To increase transparency, the Management, Screening and Evaluation Committee

(MSEC) shall publish the list of prisoners who may be qualified for release on 3
conspicuous places within the jail premises and/or uploaded in their respective websites
subject to the Data Privacy Act (Section 3c, Rule VIII)

6. The MSEC shall invite representatives from accredited civil society organizations to
appear as observers during deliberations (Section 4, Rule VIII)

7. To encourage sustained good behavior, the new IRR says accrued time allowances
shall be granted at the end of the prisoners' 2nd year, 5th year, 10th year, 11th year and
every year thereafter (Section 2, Rule IX)

In the new rule, GCTAs accrue monthly to follow the law, but are granted at the end of
the 2nd year, 5th year, 10th year, 11th year, and beyond.

"So therefore if a particular prisoner for example commits an offense, a grave offense,
within a 2-year period, then in the operational guidelines you may have a basis to say
that that particular prisoner, by virtue of his commission of an offense, forfeits the entire
accrued time allowance," Justice Undersecretary Mark Perete said in a news
conference on Friday September 20.

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8. The grant of time allowances to a disqualified prisoner, whether under the previous or
present Rules, shall not extinguish criminal liability (Section 1, Rule X)

V. Conclusion

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Interior and Local
Government (DILG) have revised the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the
Good Conduct Time Allowance law (GCTA law), last September 16, 2019. Because of
this, Mike and Freddie can benefit and use R.A. 10592 as a legal remedy only if they
can prove that they were convicted before the law became effective on 2013.

Under the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), Freddie can be
lawfully arrested if he refuses to surrender, and can be excluded from GCTA upon being
summoned for the execution of his sentence and has failed to surrender voluntarily
before a court of law.

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