SC junks NBP inmates’ petition over IRR of GCTA

 MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed the petition of convicted killer-rapist former Calauan mayor Antonio Sanchez and his fellow inmates questioning the constitutionality of the new guidelines of the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.

Edgar Aricheta, SC Clerk of Court, said the petition for mandamus was junked after it failed to follow the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure. 

He emphasized that only petitions filed before the SC that strictly comply with the requirements of Rule 65 and other related provisions of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure “shall be entertained.”

“On the basis thereof, the court resolved to dismiss the instant petition for mandamus for non-compliance therewith,” Aricheta said in three-page notice he signed on Dec. 3, 2019. 

The notice was released to reporters on Friday afternoon. 

Aricheta said Sanchez and the other inmates have particularly failed to pay the docket and other fees and failed to show proof of service of the petition to the adverse parties. The petition’s form was also cited as insufficient and defective.     

He noted that Sanchez’s petition “was not notarized and the affiant therein lacked competent evidence of identity,” has defective or insufficient certification against forum shopping and failed to file the required number of plain copies of the petition.

Along with several other inmates, Sanchez sought the SC’s intervention and asked the court to nullify the amended and revised implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the GCTA law under Republic Act 10592.

Department of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra and Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año signed the new IRR after the old rules were being criticized for covering inmates, including Sanchez, who are not supposed to benefit from the GCTA law.

Inmates who are recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapees and those convicted for heinous crimes like murder or rape are not covered under the GCTA’s new IRR.