Reviewer in CA2

Preliminary Examination

Non-Institutional Corrections

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.

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.

Commutation – refers to the reduction of the duration of 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.

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
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 offense
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

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;
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 offenses committed under the influence of drugs
7. Whose release from prison may constitute a danger to society.

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.

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.

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.
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
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.

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.

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.

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.

- 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.

- NOTE: A minor who escaped from confinement in the reformatory is entitled to the
benefits of the ISL because his confinement is not considered imprisonment.

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.

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;
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.

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 diseases as certified by a government
physician;
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.
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
behavior or conduct while in prison.

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.

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.