A new year and a new beginning were given to at least 1,000 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) who were released by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) from November to December of this year.

BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. announced Sunday that 1,000 PDLs were released between 26 November and 31 December 2024, including 152 who attended a culminating activity Monday at the Social Hall of BuCor’s Administrative Building at the New Bilibid Prison compound in Muntinlupa City.

This brings the total number of PDL releases from January of this year to the present to 7,707, or a total of 18,422 PDLs released since Justice Secretary Crispin “Boying” Remulla assumed office.

Catapang stated that among those released, 625 had completed their maximum sentences, 134 were acquitted, one was granted a motion for release, 38 were granted probation, 190 received parole, 11 were released through habeas corpus, and one was turned over to jail.

Of those released, 59 came from the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City, two from CIW Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm, 18 from CIW Mindanao, 170 from Davao Prison and Penal Farm, 111 from Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm, 69 from Leyte Regional Prison, 199 from the Maximum Security Camp of New Bilibid Prison (NBP), 146 from the Medium Security Camp of NBP, 40 from the Minimum Security Camp of NBP, 17 from the Reception and Diagnostic Center of NBP, 68 from Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm, and 101 from San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm.

Meanwhile, due to the effectivity clause of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 10592, otherwise known as the Revised Penal Code as amended, BuCor announced a shift in the timeline for the release of those convicted of heinous crimes who are eligible for the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA).

Initially aiming for release by the end of this year, Catapang clarified that these PDLs may instead begin their release early next year.

This change, Catapang explained, was attributed to the effectivity clause of the IRR, which stipulates that the new rules will take effect fifteen days after being published in at least two newspapers of general circulation and filed with the University of the Philippines-Office of the National Administrative Register, as mandated by the Revised Administrative Code of 1987.

Catapang emphasized the importance of following proper procedural guidelines surrounding this significant legal update.

The Revised IRR, signed on December 15 by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and Interior and Local Government Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla, marks a crucial step toward ensuring that the implementation of GCTA is both effective and aligned with the legal framework established by existing laws.

The GCTA is a privilege awarded to a prisoner, whether held or sentenced by final judgment, granting him the opportunity for a reduction of his jail or prison term for every month of actual detention or service of sentence as a reward for good conduct and exemplary behavior.

To recall, in 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that those convicted of heinous crimes were excluded from the grant of GCTA.

However, the Supreme Court En Banc’s recent ruling in G.R. No. 249027 and G.R. No. 249155 (Guinto et al. v. Department of Justice; Inmates of New Bilibid Prison, et al. v. Department of Justice) allowed persons convicted of heinous crimes to avail of GCTA in serving their sentences.