The Supreme Court (SC) has declared that persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) who were convicted of heinous crimes are also entitled to good conduct time allowance (GCTA) that would enable their early release from prison.
GCTA credits under Republic Act No. 10592 are given to PDLs for good behavior during their incarceration.
The SC decision granted the petitions filed by the PDLs who challenged the validity of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 10592, the new GCTA law. The full court decision, written by Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh, was issued in Baguio City where the SC justices are now holding their traditional summer sessions.
In a summary, the SC's Public Information Office (PIO) said the High Court ruled that the 2019 IRR on RA 10592 "exceeded its power of subordinate legislation when it excluded persons convicted of heinous crimes from the benefits of Republic Act (RA) No. 10592, or the New Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.”
Quoting from the decision, the PIO also said:
"In finding the assailed provisions of the 2019 IRR invalid, the En Banc held that when R.A. No. 10592 amended Article 97 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), it used the connecting conjunction 'or' to express that (1) “any offender qualified for credit imprisonment pursuant to Article 29 of the RPC,' and in the alternative (2) 'any convicted prisoner in any penal institution, rehabilitation, or detention center in any other local jail' may avail of the benefits granted by R.A. No. 10592.
"Thus, the 2019 IRR expanded the scope of R.A. No. 10592 when it excluded recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapees, and persons deprived of liberty convicted of heinous crimes from earning GCTA credits when the law itself did not do so.
"The Court ruled that Article 97 of the RPC, as amended by R.A. No. 10592, is clear that any convicted prisoner is entitled to GCTA as long as the prisoner is in any penal institution, rehabilitation or detention center, or any other local jail."