Binay urges BuCor to be meticulous in computing good conduct time allowances
Published Aug 23, 2019 02:05 pm
By Hannah Torregoza
Senator Nancy Binay on Friday urged the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) to be more meticulous, and thorough in computing Good Conduct Time Allowances (GCTA) to avoid reckless errors.
Sen. Nancy Binay
(Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN) Binay said she saw the need to fully review the procedures in granting GCTAs to prisoners since the operations manual being used by BuCor, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and provincial jails may be subjected to wrong interpretation or implementation. The senator made the call as she joined calls that denounced the possible early release of former Calauan mayor Antonio Sanchez who was convicted or rape and murder of two University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) students. Sanchez was meted seven years of life imprisonment or reclusion perpetua. "Ayusin naman sana yung pagbibilang. A simple math mistake can directly perpetuate wholesale injustice,” Binay said. “ Kaya, wag natin itong tingnan lamang sa simpleng credit o deduction dahil sa 'good behavior'. Malaki ang implikasyon ng bawat araw at numero sa computation--an error can be a criminal's ticket to freedom, (Let’s not look at this a simple credit or deduction due to ‘good behavior.’ There is a huge implication for every day and number in the computation—an error can be a criminal’s ticket to freedom,)” she pointed out. In the rules on serving successive sentences under Article 70 of the Revised Penal Code, the period of reclusion perpetua is set to a maximum of 40 years. She said that in the light of the Sanchez case, authorities should consider reviewing the cases of those given Credits for Preventive Imprisonment (CPI) and GCTA. In RA 10592, CPI and GCTA would commute the term of imprisonment of convicts, and once these allowances are granted, they cannot be revoked. Binay lamented that the law increases GCTAs, but does not define “good behavior” as applied to extremely serious crimes, and is therefore, open to many interpretations. “Kailangan bigyang pansin ang ibang mga kaso na nabigyan ng CPIs at GCTA. Isang concern yung walang malinaw na key performance indicators, not to mention na napaka-subjective 'pag sinabing good behaviour,” Binay said. Families of victims of heinous crimes have yet to see that justice is fully served, and Binay noted the colatilla for “heinous crimes” disqualification only refers to CPIs, not to GCTAs. "It's hard to imagine hardened criminals walk free without fully serving their life sentences just because of a clerical lapse, at dahil nga may good conduct, pwede na silang lumaya nang mas maaga (they can be freed much earlier) without the families of victims being informed," she noted. The senator also said the law should have a provision to have candidates or applicants for clemency be published in newspapers or online in order for the public and the families of victims to be informed of the convicts' status. "We need to have clear definition of terminologies and measurable indices to ensure there is legal and material basis “ she said. “And there should be a list of certain crimes that is qualified for clemency o sa GCTA. Kung double- or triple-life, dapat automatic na disqualified,” she stressed. Binay warned that granting clemency to the undeserving will only amplify the “horror, the pain, and the injustice” of the victims. She said that for hardened criminals, no amount of good behavior can erase the bestiality of whatever they did to their victims. “Yung pagbibigay ng clemency ng walang materyal na batayan ay isang panunuya sa mga pamilya ng biktima at hustisya,(Granting clemency without sufficient basis is a mockery to the family of the victims and to the justice system),” Binay stressed. She also said that a prisoner’s fitness for parole or any form of executive clemency was prone to flaws. “The law does not provide for circumstances that would disqualify a convict--who has several life sentences--from being eligible,” she said. “Ang nakakatakot, once na na-compute na at na-approve ang good conduct allowances, wala nang bawian ito, (what is scary is that once computed and the GCTA is approved, it cannot be reversed,” the senator pointed out. She said lawmakers should amend RA 10592 in such a way that GCTA would apply to extraordinary heinous crimes like massacres, and multiple rapes, particularly of children. “Our daughters and sons will never be safe if the law becomes lenient to hardened criminals like rapists and murderers. The crimes they've committed are indivisible, unforgivable and beyond any sensible man's latitude,” she emphasized. “What is necessary is for the State to have a functioning oversight that would check not only the math, but for penal bureaus to come up with a holistic evaluation procedure that is independent, fair, thorough, and impeccable,” she further stressed.
Sen. Nancy Binay(Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN) Binay said she saw the need to fully review the procedures in granting GCTAs to prisoners since the operations manual being used by BuCor, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and provincial jails may be subjected to wrong interpretation or implementation. The senator made the call as she joined calls that denounced the possible early release of former Calauan mayor Antonio Sanchez who was convicted or rape and murder of two University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) students. Sanchez was meted seven years of life imprisonment or reclusion perpetua. "Ayusin naman sana yung pagbibilang. A simple math mistake can directly perpetuate wholesale injustice,” Binay said. “ Kaya, wag natin itong tingnan lamang sa simpleng credit o deduction dahil sa 'good behavior'. Malaki ang implikasyon ng bawat araw at numero sa computation--an error can be a criminal's ticket to freedom, (Let’s not look at this a simple credit or deduction due to ‘good behavior.’ There is a huge implication for every day and number in the computation—an error can be a criminal’s ticket to freedom,)” she pointed out. In the rules on serving successive sentences under Article 70 of the Revised Penal Code, the period of reclusion perpetua is set to a maximum of 40 years. She said that in the light of the Sanchez case, authorities should consider reviewing the cases of those given Credits for Preventive Imprisonment (CPI) and GCTA. In RA 10592, CPI and GCTA would commute the term of imprisonment of convicts, and once these allowances are granted, they cannot be revoked. Binay lamented that the law increases GCTAs, but does not define “good behavior” as applied to extremely serious crimes, and is therefore, open to many interpretations. “Kailangan bigyang pansin ang ibang mga kaso na nabigyan ng CPIs at GCTA. Isang concern yung walang malinaw na key performance indicators, not to mention na napaka-subjective 'pag sinabing good behaviour,” Binay said. Families of victims of heinous crimes have yet to see that justice is fully served, and Binay noted the colatilla for “heinous crimes” disqualification only refers to CPIs, not to GCTAs. "It's hard to imagine hardened criminals walk free without fully serving their life sentences just because of a clerical lapse, at dahil nga may good conduct, pwede na silang lumaya nang mas maaga (they can be freed much earlier) without the families of victims being informed," she noted. The senator also said the law should have a provision to have candidates or applicants for clemency be published in newspapers or online in order for the public and the families of victims to be informed of the convicts' status. "We need to have clear definition of terminologies and measurable indices to ensure there is legal and material basis “ she said. “And there should be a list of certain crimes that is qualified for clemency o sa GCTA. Kung double- or triple-life, dapat automatic na disqualified,” she stressed. Binay warned that granting clemency to the undeserving will only amplify the “horror, the pain, and the injustice” of the victims. She said that for hardened criminals, no amount of good behavior can erase the bestiality of whatever they did to their victims. “Yung pagbibigay ng clemency ng walang materyal na batayan ay isang panunuya sa mga pamilya ng biktima at hustisya,(Granting clemency without sufficient basis is a mockery to the family of the victims and to the justice system),” Binay stressed. She also said that a prisoner’s fitness for parole or any form of executive clemency was prone to flaws. “The law does not provide for circumstances that would disqualify a convict--who has several life sentences--from being eligible,” she said. “Ang nakakatakot, once na na-compute na at na-approve ang good conduct allowances, wala nang bawian ito, (what is scary is that once computed and the GCTA is approved, it cannot be reversed,” the senator pointed out. She said lawmakers should amend RA 10592 in such a way that GCTA would apply to extraordinary heinous crimes like massacres, and multiple rapes, particularly of children. “Our daughters and sons will never be safe if the law becomes lenient to hardened criminals like rapists and murderers. The crimes they've committed are indivisible, unforgivable and beyond any sensible man's latitude,” she emphasized. “What is necessary is for the State to have a functioning oversight that would check not only the math, but for penal bureaus to come up with a holistic evaluation procedure that is independent, fair, thorough, and impeccable,” she further stressed.