G.R. No. 249027 , April 3, 2024
NARCISO B. GUINTO (RELEASED AND REARRESTED PRISONER N216P-3611), INMATES OF NEW BILIBID PRISON INCLUDING ROMMEL BALTAR, ESMUNDO MALLILLIN, ALDRIN GALICIA, HENRY ALICNAS, DENMARK JUDERIAL, JUANITO MIÑON, JR., FROMENCIO ENACMAL, BENJAMIN IBAÑEZ, RICKY BAUTISTA, LEDDIE KARIM, ALFREDO ROMANO, JR., MARIO SARMIENTO, DANILO MORALES, AND ALEX RIVERA, PETITIONERS, VS. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS, BUREAU OF JAIL MANAGEMENT AND PENOLOGY, AND PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE, RESPONDENTS. [G.R. No. 249155] INMATES OF NEW BILIBID PRISON, AS REPRESENTED BY RUSSEL A. FUENSALIDA, TOSHING YIU, BENJAMIN D. GALVEZ, CERILO C. OBNIMAGA, URBANO D. MISON, ROLAND A. GAMBA, PABLO Z. PANAGA, AND ROMMEL T. DEANG, PETITIONERS, VS. SECRETARY MENARDO GUEVARRA, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, SECRETARY EDUARDO AÑO, DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, DIRECTOR GENERAL GERALD BANTAG, BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS, AND HON. ALLAN SULLANO IRAL, CHIEF, BUREAU OF JAIL MANAGEMENT AND PENOLOGY, RESPONDENTS.

FACTS

Petitioners are inmates convicted of heinous crimes. Following the Court’s decision in Inmates of New Bilibid Prison v. De Lima ordering the recomputation of time allowances for petitioners and those similarly situated, the respondents (DOJ, BuCor, BJMP) excluded petitioners from those granted Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) earned during service of their sentence. This exclusion was based on Section 2, Rule IV of the 2019 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 10592 , which disqualifies recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapees, and persons convicted of heinous crimes from earning GCTA during service of sentence. Petitioners filed Petitions for Certiorari and Prohibition, praying for a declaration that any convict, including those convicted of heinous crimes, are not prohibited from earning GCTA after conviction, and to enjoin respondents to recompute their time allowances.

ISSUE

Whether Section 2, Rule IV of the 2019 Revised IRR of RA 10592, which excludes recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapees, and persons convicted of heinous crimes from earning GCTA during service of sentence, is valid.

RULING

The Concurring Opinion agrees with the ponencia that the 2019 Revised IRR should be nullified insofar as it excludes the said individuals from enjoying GCTA after final conviction. The opinion states that RA 10592, in amending Article 97 of the Revised Penal Code, establishes two categories entitled to earn GCTA: (1) any offender qualified for credit for preventive imprisonment under Article 29, and (2) any convicted prisoner in any penal institution, rehabilitation or detention center or any other local jail. The only qualification for the second category is that the convicted prisoner be detained in a penal institution. The exclusionary proviso in Article 29 (“recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapees and persons charged with heinous crimes are excluded from the coverage of this Act”) applies only to the entitlement of deducting preventive imprisonment from the full term. The 2019 Revised IRR erroneously extended this exclusion to Article 97, effectively barring these individuals from earning GCTA altogether, which exceeds the rule-making power granted by RA 10592 and contravenes the clear letter of the law. Therefore, the Petitions should be granted.