The revision of the manual governing the grant of the Good Conduct Time Allowances to prisoners is “almost done” several months after the controversy over the anomalous implementation of the GCTA Law had been exposed, an official of the Department of Justice said on Friday.
Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete announced that the status of the uniform manual governing the implementation of the GCTA Law is almost complete, except for some issues that need to be threshed out.
“For finalization. Almost done except for some issues that need to be resolved,” Perete said in a text message to reporters.
According to Perete, the DOJ has been working on the manual even during the implementation of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine aimed at preventing the spread of the dreaded coronavirus disease.
“Like in most other transactions we handle at the moment, we are setting meetings by videocon to finalize the manual,” the DOJ official said.
“But even pending finalization of the manual, and for humanitarian considerations, the release of PDLs [persons deprived of liberty] in the vulnerable/high risk category not guilty of heinous crimes or of other serious offenses is being expedited,” Perete added.
Republic 10592 or the GCTA Law allows deductions to the sentence of a prisoner who shows good behavior behind bars. There are also time allowances for loyalty and for study, teaching, or mentoring.
However, the Bureau of Corrections manual on time allowances have been subjected to revision after the DOJ and the Department of the Interior and Local Government modified the implementing rules and regulations of the RA 10592 in September last year.
The revised IRR excludes recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapees and those charged with heinous crimes from earning time allowances and credit for preventive imprisonment.
The government was prompted to review the IRR of the 2013 law following the controversy surrounding the reported release of convicts of heinous crimes whose sentences were shortened by GCTAs.
President Rodrigo Duterte ordered heinous crime convicts who were freed on this ground to surrender, but even those released for other reasons turned themselves in.
Earlier this week, the BuCor’s spokesperson said the processing of GCTA and other time allowances remains suspended pending the approval of the manual.
The DOJ is currently studying calls for the release of “low-risk offenders” to ease prison populations as COVID-19 threatens Philippine detention facilities.
In his recent report to Congress, President Duterte said that seventy-four BuCor inmates are considered persons under monitoring and two are under investigation for COVID-19.
