IRR on GCTA revised

DOJ chief renews call for legislative review of RA 10692

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) are set to approve

the implementation of the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) governing the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA).

DOJ spokesman and Undersecretary Markk Perete announced on Friday that the revised IRR is tentatively set for signing on September 16, Monday, by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra and Interior Secretary Eduardo Año.

“The Joint Review Committee has already completed its work and submitted the draft IRR to the secretaries of Justice and of the Interior and Local Government,” Perete told reporters.

“Both will now review the draft IRR and decide on its promulgation,” he noted.

A joint committee of the DOJ and DILG, headed by Justice Undersecretary Deo Marco, revised the IRR of Republic Act (RA) No. 10592, the GCTA law, following a review done from August 30 to September 12.

RA 10592, passed in 2013, amended some provisions of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) which allowed the earlier release of convicts due to the increase GCTAs granted to them.

While the committee conducted the review of the IRR, Guevarra and Año suspended the processing of GCTAs.

“In the meantime, the Joint Review Committee will ask the (DOJ and DILG) secretaries for an extension of their mandate to review and recommend revisions to the Uniform Manual and Guidelines for the implementation of RA No. 10592,” Perete said.

The review is being made in the wake of concerns that rape-slay convict former Calauan, Laguna mayor Antonio Sanchez and other inmates convicted of heinous crimes could be released due to their GCTAs.

Sanchez was convicted of seven counts of rape with homicide for the deaths of University of the Philippines (UP) Los Baños students Eileen Sarmenta and her boyfriend Allan Gomez in 1993.

He was also convicted of two counts of murder for the 1991 killing of Nelson Peñalosa and his son Rickson, the supporters of the political rival of Sanchez.

Aside from these, he also got convicted for violating the Code of Conduct of Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

Review of GCTA pushed

With the revised IRR on GCTA set to be implemented, Guevarra renewed calls for a legislative review of RA No. 10592 amid the latest revelations of more money-making schemes taking place at the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

“I am beginning to think that the law itself that supposedly strengthened the BuCor (and consequently diminished DOJ control over it) may have to be reviewed,” Guevarra told reporters on Friday.

Perete also said that “RA 10575 made the BuCor a line agency of the DOJ from its previous status as a constituent bureau.”

“Since its passage, DOJ can only exercise administrative supervision over the BuCor instead of control,” Perete pointed out.

“This is also the law used by BuCor’s legal division to justify its assertion that its decisions as regards the release of high-profile inmates do not need notice to, much less prior approval by, the SOJ (Secretary of Justice),” he lamented.

Money-making schemes

Perete also assured that the DOJ is closely monitoring revelations made at the Senate hearings over the moneymaking schemes at the BuCor.

He said the DOJ has also ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the BuCor concerning corrupt and illegal activities taking place there.

“We are awaiting the outcome of the NBI investigation which the Department shall use in ascertaining the possible liability - whether criminal, administrative or civil - of those responsible for violation of our criminal laws, of their oath as public officers, and of the fundamental edict to treat each human person with utmost respect,” he said.

“In the meantime, the Department will pursue, within the mandate and limits imposed by law, reforms within the BuCor and in its operations. The crafting of a revised IRR for RA No. 10592, the Secretary’s creation of the Oversight Committee over the BuCor, and his final recommendation to the President of a possible new BuCor director-general are important first steps toward our direction for reform,” he added.

Recently, Perete also questioned why the BuCor listed convicted pork barrel scam plunderer Janet Napoles among the prisoners who have been released due to their GCTA.

The list, which was submitted by the BuCor to the Senate, showed that Napoles was released on November 12, 2018, following the expiration of sentence for a rape conviction.

Perete has already assured that Napoles remains incarcerated at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City following her plunder conviction at the Sandiganbayan on December, 2018 in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam.

Amid this apparent BuCor blunder, Perete said the CIW should also be investigated due to reports of nepotism.

“Allegations of nepotism would have to be investigated. There is an express prohibition against nepotism under our civil service rules, specifically Sec. 30 of RA No. 2260. But each case would have to be evaluated on its own merits,” he said.