G.R. No. L-3951; August 7, 1950
JESUS ALVARADO, in behalf of his brother, Aniceto Alvarado y Como, petitioner, vs. THE DIRECTOR OF PRISONS, respondent.

FACTS

Aniceto Alvarado y Como was convicted of theft and sentenced to an indeterminate penalty of 4 months and 1 day to 2 years, 4 months and 1 day. The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment on March 29, 1948. He was a detention prisoner before and during the trial and appeal. The petitioner claimed that with the actual service of his sentence and the application of his good conduct time allowance under Article 97 of the Revised Penal Code, he had already served more than the maximum of his penalty. The Solicitor General, representing the respondent Director of Prisons, agreed that the petition for habeas corpus should be granted.

ISSUE

Whether the petitioner is entitled to release on habeas corpus for having already served his sentence in full, considering the correct commencement date of his service of sentence and the application of good conduct time allowance.

RULING

Yes. The Court ruled that the service of the petitioner’s sentence should be deemed to have commenced on the date the Court of Appeals’ judgment became final, which was upon its promulgation on March 29, 1948, and not on October 18, 1948, when the Court of First Instance unnecessarily set it for promulgation. The petitioner, being already in prison and not having appealed further, was deemed to have submitted to the execution of the judgment as of its promulgation date. Recomputing the service of sentence from March 29, 1948, and including the good conduct time allowance, the petitioner had already served beyond the maximum term of his indeterminate sentence by the time of the petition. The respondent Director of Prisons was ordered to release the petitioner immediately.

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