DILG, DOJ start review of GCTA
MANILA -- The joint review on the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 10592 providing for the grant of Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) credits for prisoners will start shortly, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Thursday.
In a statement, DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said that based on the recommendation of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Interior Secretary Eduardo Año and Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra have created a joint committee “to review the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) and the Uniform Policy and Guidelines on the computation of credits and allowances provided under Republic Act 10592.”
He said the joint review must be done to determine if there are inconsistencies between the law and the IRR and the 10-day suspension will give the joint DILG and DOJ team ample time to revisit its provisions and make the necessary adjustments in the IRR or recommend amendments
to Congress, if necessary. The joint committee will submit its report and draft revised IRR, uniform policy and guidelines on the computation of time credits and allowances under RA 10592 to the Secretary of Justice and Secretary of the Interior and Local Government within 10 working days from the issuance of the order. The joint committee will be chaired by the DOJ and co-chaired by DILG. The Bureau of Corrections is under the DOJ while the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, which runs all district and city jails, is under the DILG. On Tuesday, Guevarra has ordered officials of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) to suspend the processing of Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) for inmates. The impending review of the law’s IRR came in the wake of public uproar following earlier reports that convicted rapist and murderer, former Calauan, Laguna mayor Antonio Sanchez is among those who will be entitled to an early release from prison due to a June 25 Supreme Court (SC) ruling. The SC, however, clarified that the ruling merely interpreted the law and did not order Sanchez’s release. (PNA)