Non-Institutional Corrections

Board of Pardons and Parole - was created pursuant to Act No. 4103,

as amended. It is the intent of the law to uplift and redeem valuable

human material to economic usefulness and to prevent unnecessary

and excessive deprivation of personal liberty.

Functions

1. To grant parole to qualified prisoners;

2. To recommend to the President the grant of pardon and other

forms of executive clemency;

3. To authorize the transfer of residence of parolees and

pardonees, order their arrest and recommitment, or grant

their final release and discharge.

Basis for Grant of Parole

1. The prisoner is fit to be released;

2. There is a reasonable probability that, if released, he

or she will live and remain at liberty without violating

the law; and

3. His or her release will not be incompatible with the

welfare of society.

How May Executive Clemency Be Exercised?

1. Reprieve
2. Absolute pardon

3. Conditional pardon

4. Commutation of sentence.

Commutation – refers to the reduction of the duration of a

prison sentence of a prisoner.

Commutation Allowed When:

1. person is over 70 years old

2. 8 justices fail to reach a decision affirming the

death penalty

Absolute Pardon - An act of grace, proceeding from the power

entrusted with the execution of the laws, Exempts the individual

from the penalty of the crime he has committed.

Conditional Pardon - If delivered and accepted, it is a contract

between the executive and the convict that the former will

release the latter upon compliance with the condition.

Example of a condition:

Not to violate any of the penal laws of the country again.

Reprieve - refers to the deferment of the implementation of

the sentence for an interval of time; it does not annul the

sentence but merely postpones or suspends its execution

Basis for Grant of Executive Clemency

The BPP recommends to the President the grant of executive

clemency when any of the following circumstances are present:

1. The trial or appellate court recommended in its decision

the grant of executive clemency for the prisoner

2. Under the peculiar circumstances of the case, the penalty

imposed is too harsh compared to the crime committed

3. Offender qualifies as a youth offender at the time of the

commission of the offence

4. Prisoner is seventy years old and above;

5. Prisoner is terminally-ill;

6. Alien prisoners where diplomatic considerations and amity

among nations necessitate review and

7. Other similar or analogous circumstances whenever the

interest of justice will be served thereby

When Applications for Executive Clemency will not be

Favourably Acted Upon by The Board of Pardon and Parole

1. Convicted of evasion of service of sentence;

2. Who violated the conditions of their conditional pardon;

3. Who are habitual delinquents or recidivists;

4. Convicted of kidnapping for ransom;

5. Convicted of violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972

and the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002;

6. Convicted of offences committed under the influence of drugs

7. Whose release from prison may constitute a danger to society.

Issues Confronting The Philippine Corrections System

1. Overcrowding of Certain Prison Institutions/Jails

2. Fragmented Set-Up of the Corrections System

3. Lack of Information Technology Systems and Expertise

4. Lack of/Inadequate Training - lack of awareness and

understanding by some prison/jail officials and staff on

the rights of inmates.

Petitions for parole shall be addressed to the Chairman or to

the Executive Director of the Board. However, the Board may,

motu proprio , consider cases for parole, commutation of

sentence or conditional pardon of deserving prisoners whenever

the interest of justice will be served thereby.

Minimum Requirements A Prisoner Must Meet Before Petitions for

executive clemency may be reviewed.

For Commutation of Sentence

1. The prisoner shall have served at least one-third (1/3)

of the minimum of his indeterminate and/or definite

sentence or the aggregate minimum of his indeterminate

and/or definite sentences.

2. At least ten (10) years for prisoners sentenced to

Reclusion Perpetua or Life imprisonment for crimes or

offenses committed before January 1, 1994.

3. At least twelve (12) years for prisoners whose sentences

were adjusted to a definite prison term of forty (40)

years in accordance with the provisions of Article 70

of the Revised Penal Code, as amended.

4. At least fifteen (15) years for prisoners convicted of

heinous crimes as defined in Republic Act No. 7659 and

other special laws committed on or after January 1, 1994

and sentenced to one or more Reclusion Perpetua or Life

imprisonment.

5. At least twenty (20) years in case of one (1) or more

 Death penalty/penalties, which was/were automatically

reduced or commuted to one (1) or more Reclusion Perpetua

or Life imprisonment.

For Conditional Pardon

The prisoner shall have served at least one-half (1/2) of

the minimum of his original indeterminate and/or definite

sentence. However, in the case of a prisoner who is convicted

of a heinous crime as defined in Republic Act No. 7659 and

other special laws, he shall have served at least one-half

(1/2) of the maximum of his original indeterminate sentence

before his case may be reviewed for conditional pardon.

For Absolute Pardon

After he has served his maximum sentence or granted final

release and discharge or court termination of probation.

However, the Board may consider a petition for absolute

pardon even before the grant of final release and discharge

under the provisions of Section 6 of Act No. 4103, as amended,

as when the petitioner: (1) is seeking an appointive/elective

 public position or reinstatement in the government service;

(2) needs medical treatment abroad which is not available

locally; (3) will take any government examination; or

(4) is emigrating.

Prisoners who escaped or evaded service of sentence are not

eligible for executive clemency for a period of one (1) year

from the date of their last recommitment to prison or

conviction for evasion of service of sentence.

Bureau of Correction - Where the penalty imposed exceeds three years,

the offender shall serve his or her sentence in the penal institutions

of the BuCor.

Carpeta - refers to the institutional record of an inmate which

consists of his mittimus or commitment order issued by the Court after

conviction, the prosecutor's information and the decisions of the

trial court and the appellate court, if any; certificate of non-appeal,

certificate of detention and other pertinent documents of the case.

District Jail - is a cluster of small jails, each having a monthly

average population of ten or less inmates, and is located in the

vicinity of the court.

Jail - is defined as a place of confinement for inmates under

investigation or undergoing trial, or serving short-term

sentences.

- Jails include provincial, district, city and municipal

jails managed and supervised by the Provincial Government

and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP),

respectively, which are both under the Department of the

Interior and Local Government.

Municipal and city prisoners are committed to municipal, city

or district jails managed by the BJMP.

Prison - refers to the national prisons or penitentiaries

managed and supervised by the Bureau of Corrections, an agency

under the Department of Justice.

- prison refers to the national prisons or penitentiaries

managed and supervised by the Bureau of Corrections,

an agency under the Department of Justice.

Provincial Jail - Where the imposable penalty for the crime

committed is more than six months and the same was committed

within the municipality, the offender must serve his or her

sentence in the provincial jail which is under the Office of

 the Governor.

Executive Clemency - refers to Reprieve, Absolute Pardon, Conditional

Pardon with or without Parole Conditions and Commutation of Sentence

as may be granted by the President of the Philippines.

Indeterminate Sentence Law

The indeterminate sentence is composed of:

1. a MAXIMUM taken from the penalty imposable under the penal code

2. a MINIMUM taken from the penalty next lower to that fixed in the code.

The law does not apply to certain offenders:

1. Persons convicted of offense punished with death penalty or

life imprisonment.

2. Those convicted of treason, conspiracy or proposal to commit

treason.

3. Those convicted of misprision of treason, rebellion, sedition

or espionage.

4. Those convicted of piracy.

5. Those who are habitual delinquents.

6. Those who shall have escaped from confinement or evaded sentence.

7. Those who violated the terms of conditional pardon granted to

them by the Chief Executive.

8. Those whose maximum term of imprisonment does not exceed one year.
9. Those who, upon the approval of the law, had been sentenced

by final judgment.

10. Those sentenced to the penalty of destierro or suspension.

Purpose of the law: to uplift and redeem valuable human material

and prevent unnecessary and excessive deprivation of liberty

and economic usefulness

- It is necessary to consider the criminal first as an

individual, and second as a member of the society.

- The law is intended to favor the defendant, particularly

to shorten his term of imprisonment, depending upon his

behavior and his physical, mental and moral record as a

prisoner, to be determined by the Board of Indeterminate

Sentence.

The settled practice is to give the accused the benefit of the

law even in crimes punishable with death or life imprisonment

provided the resulting penalty, after considering the attending

circumstances, is reclusion temporal or less.

ISL does not apply to destierro. ISL is expressly granted to

those who are sentenced to imprisonment exceeding 1 year.

Procedure For Determining The Maximum and Minimum Sentence

- It consists of a maximum and a minimum instead of a single

fixed penalty.

- Prisoner must serve the minimum before he is eligible

for parole.

- The period between the minimum and maximum is indeterminate

in the sense that the prisoner may be exempted from serving

said indeterminate period in whole or in part.

- The maximum is determined in any case punishable under the

RPC in accordance with the rules and provisions of said

code exactly as if the ISL had never been enacted.

- Apply first the effect of privileged mitigating

circumstances then consider the effects of aggravating and

ordinary mitigating circumstances.

- The minimum depends upon the court’s discretion with the

limitation that it must be within the range of the penalty

 next lower in degree to that prescribed by the Code for the

offense committed.

- NOTE: A minor who escaped from confinement in the reformatory

is entitled to the benefits of the ISL because his confinement

is not considered imprisonment.

Parole – The suspension of the sentence of the convict after serving

the minimum term of the intermediate penalty, without being granted a

pardon, prescribing the terms upon which the sentence shall be suspended.

- May be given after the prisoner has served the minimum

penalty; is granted by the Board of Pardons and Parole under the

provisions of the Indeterminate Sentence Law.

Disqualification for Parole - The following prisoners shall

not be granted parole:

1. Those convicted of an offense punished with Death penalty,

Reclusion Perpetua or Life imprisonment;

2. Those convicted of treason, conspiracy or proposal to commit

treason or espionage;

3. Those convicted of misprision of treason, rebellion, sedition

or coup d'etat;

4. Those convicted of piracy or mutiny on the high seas or

Philippine waters;
5. Those who are habitual delinquents i.e. those who, within a

period of ten (10) years from the date of release from prison

or last conviction of the crimes of serious or less serious

physical injuries, robbery, theft, estafa and falsification,

are found guilty of any of said crimes a third time or oftener;

6. Those who escaped from confinement or evaded sentence;

7. Those who were granted Conditional Pardon and violated any

of the terms thereof;

8. Those whose maximum term of imprisonment does not exceed one

(1) year or those with definite sentence;

9. Those suffering from any mental disorder as certified by a

government psychiatrist/psychologist;

10.Those whose conviction is on appeal;

11.Those who have pending criminal case/s.

Special Factors - The Board may give special consideration to

the recommendation for commutation of sentence or conditional

pardon whenever any of the following circumstances are present

1. Youthful offenders;

2. Prisoners who are sixty (60) years old and above;

3. Physical disability such as when the prisoner is bedridden,

a deaf mute, a leper, a cripple or is blind or similar

disabilities;

4. Serious illness and other life-threatening disease as

certified by a government physician;

 5. Those prisoners recommended for the grant of executive clemency

by the trial/appellate court as stated in the decision;

6. Alien prisoners where diplomatic considerations and amity

between nations necessitate review;

7. Circumstances which show that his continued imprisonment will

be inhuman or will pose a grave danger to the life of the

prisoner or his co-inmates; and,

8. Such other similar or analogous circumstances whenever the

interest of justice will be served thereby.

Prison Record - refers to information concerning an inmate's personal

circumstances, the offense he committed, the sentence imposed, the

criminal case number in the trial and appellate courts, the date he

commenced serving his sentence, the date he was received for

confinement, the place of confinement, the date of expiration of

the sentence, the number of previous convictions, if any, and his

behavior or conduct while in prison.

Probation - is a disposition under which an accused, after conviction

and sentence, is released subject to conditions imposed by the court

and to the supervision of a probation officer.

Progress Report - refers to the report submitted by the

Probation and Parole Officer on the conduct of the

parolee/pardonee while under supervision.

 Infraction Report - refers to the report submitted by the

Probation and Parole Officer on violations committed by a

parolee/pardonee of the conditions of his release on parole or

conditional pardon while under supervision.

Summary Report - refers to the final report submitted by the

Probation and Parole Officer on his supervision of a

parolee/pardonee as basis for the latter's final release

and discharge.

Sentence - in law, is the penalty imposed by the court in a criminal

case against a person, known as the “accused”, who is found guilty of

committing the crime charged.

Youth Offender - is defined as a child, minor or youth who is over

nine years but under eighteen years of age at the time of the

commission of the offense.