In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo lauded Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra and Interior Secretary Eduardo Año for the prompt completion of the revision of the IRR, which did not explicitly exclude convicts of heinous crimes from availing of the benefits of the law that reduces the sentence of inmates for good conduct.
The revised IRR now explicitly excludes convicts of heinous crimes not only from availing of GCTA, but also of time allowances for study, teaching and mentoring and loyalty and credit for preventive imprisonment.
The revised IRR also adopted the definition of heinous crimes under the death penalty law, and the crimes classified as such by the Supreme Court.
“This leaves the enforcers of the law with no room for confusion,” Panelo said.
Panelo expressed “hope that the revisions and corrections made in the instrument would address the inaccuracies, as well as the loopholes of its earlier version which generated confusion among the officials in implementing the law, and the corresponding backlash of the public against them.”
“We exhort the officials of the BuCor to study the new IRR and transmit the correct and up-to-date information to their staff for their proper guidance,” Panelo added.
Guevarra and Año ordered a joint Department of Justice and Department of the Interior and Local Government panel to conduct the review of the IRR following outrage over the release of convicts of heinous crimes under the GCTA law.
They gave the panel an additional 60 days to complete its revision of the uniform policy and guidelines on GCTA accreditation.
