Revised GCTA rules deny reformed convicts time allowances – De Lima

Senator Leila De Lima on Sunday said that the revised implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) law should only be a temporary solution as it took away from truly reformed convicts their second chance of a life outside prison.

"I hope in my heart that the new [IRR] is meant to be a temporary solution to prevent irreversible damage caused by the ‘GCTA-for-sale’ fiasco that hounded this administration,” De Lima said in a statement.

“It is very unfortunate that corruption and abuse of the law has deprived truly reformed PDLs [Persons Deprived of Liberty] of the opportunity to earn time allowances based on good conduct. Yet again, corrupt officials have prejudiced the rights of the powerless,” she added.

She underscored that the GCTA law was originally designed to enable genuine prison reform and help deserving convicts to start anew and reintegrate back to the community.

“Hope and change is not confined to those imprisoned for lesser crimes. It should be made available to everyone,” De Lima argued.

Further, she said that releasing "truly reformed" convicts of heinous crimes should not be considered an injustice against their victims.

“The real injustice is the undue and improper grant of time allowance to those who do not deserve them and the failure of our system to hold the corrupt officials involved responsible,” she added.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra and Interior Secretary Eduardo Año last week signed the revised IRR for Republic Act No. 10592 which excluded persons convicted of heinous crimes from earning the benefit.

Under the new rules, among those not qualified for GCTA were prisoners convicted for treason, piracy, qualified bribery, parricide, murder, infanticide, kidnapping and serious illegal detention, robbery with violence, destructive arson, rape, plunder, some drug-related offenses, and carnapping with rape or homicide. — Dona Magsino/DVM, GMA News