A CLASS suit was filed before the Supreme Court on behalf of the inmates of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) affected by the recent revision by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) of the provisions of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 10592 or the expanded good conduct time allowance (GCTA) law.
In a 47-page petition, the convicted inmates through lawyer Rolito Abing asked the court to stop the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) from retroactively applying the exclusions introduced under Section 1 and Section 3 of RA 10592 or the expanded GCTA.
The petitioners, in particular, are seeking the nullification of provisions of the new IRR which exclude recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapees and those charged with heinous crimes from benefiting from the expanded GCTA, time allowance for studying, teaching and mentoring (TASTM) and special time allowance for loyalty (STAL).
They argued that such IRR provisions violate the constitutional prohibition against ex post facto law.
An ex post facto law is defined “as one which makes an action done before the passing of the law and which was innocent when done, criminal, and punishes such action; or which aggravates a crime or makes it greater than it was when committed.”
The petitioners pointed out that Section 1 of RA 10592, amending Article 29 of the Revised Penal Code, and Section 3, thereof, amending Article 97 of the RPC, cannot be applied retroactively due to prohibition against ex post facto law.
“The retroactive application of disadvantageous provisions of RA 10592 would work to the prejudice of petitioners and those who are similarly situated. The same would preclude the decrease in the penalty attached to their respective crimes and lengthens their prior stay,” the petition read.
“As a result, the law made more onerous the punishment for the crimes they committed. This is not allowed under the constitutional provision against ex post facto laws,” it added. The petitioners insisted that under RA 10592 any and all convicted prisoners are entitled to GCTA, TASTM and STAL; thus, the IRR of the expanded GCTA went beyond what is provided under the law.
The petitioners said the exclusion of disqualified convicts from any GCTA constitutes a violation of their right to equal protection of the law. “Assuming arguendo that doubt exists in the interpretation of the law, still the same should be resolved in favor of the offender,” the petitioners said.
The petitioners identified the unconstitutional provisions of the IRR of the expanded GCTA as Section 2, second paragraph, Rule 4, 5 and 7 as well as Section 1 (2nd and 3rd paragraphs) which also exclude certain convicts from benefits of the GCTA law.
The petitioners slammed the DOJ and the DILG for succumbing to public outrage and media criticisms at the expense of a fair implementation of RA 10592.
“With the foregoing, it becomes clear that the deprivation of application of greater GCTA and consequent prolongation of imprisonment of herein, petitioners are those similarly situated constitute violation of their substantive rights,” the petitioner stated.
“Absent any showing that they are not eligible for GCTA, they have to be made beneficiaries of the same, regardless of the nature of the crime they were convicted of. They must be accordingly released by the DOJ and BuCor regardless of whether the same will cause public outrage,” the petitioners said.
The expanded GCTA law has increased the reward of time being deducted from the prison term of persons deprived of liberty.
In a ruling released in June, the SC declared that the said law should be applied retroactively. However, the DOJ and the DILG were forced to craft a new IRR for the expanded GCTA after public outrage greeted reports showing that former Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez will soon be released owing to the retroactive application of the expanded GCTA.
Sanchez was convicted in the rape-slay case of UP Student Eileen Sarmenta and for the killing of her boyfriend Allan Gomez in 1993.
The controversy prompted the President to sack then BuCor chief Nicanor Faeldon for the premature release of heinous-crime convicts from the NBP due to erroneous application of the expanded GCTA.
He also ordered the almost 2,000 heinous-crime convicts who were prematurely released to surrender for a review of their records.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier said they welcome any legal challenge to the revised IRR.