GCTA and other prison jokes
Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) was a relief not only to some Muntinlupa prisoners but also to some erring husbands who used it to plead with their wives for forgiveness. I asked one of the wives if she really did forgive and she said she did, but not because of the GCTA but because with her husband’s medical condition and age, he can no longer do it.
In the US, prison officials were wondering why so many women were falling in love with their prisoners, so they decided to again read all the mail of the prisoners which was suspended due to a human rights issue. They found out that the prisoners were corresponding with women pen pals and when asked where they lived, they always reply as follows, “I live in a quiet gated community in a small town, with 24 hour security, sports facilities, and interacts with people of the same profession and interests.”
These, were honest description of the prison conditions and the women when they eventually find out that they were prisoners, had already fallen in love with the prisoners. Then, there is this story of an inmate when asked how he got convicted. “It was good news and bad news situation, the DNA test showed that it was my blood all over the crime scene.” “And what is the good news with that? Well, my cholesterol was only 130.”
The GCTA law has good intentions and the objective of decongesting the prisons and returning some of the prisoners to productive lives is laudable. What is tragically funny was the implementation of the law, beginning with the incorrect Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) that allowed discretion in the release of the wrong persons by using a faulty interpretation of the IRR. We now have a situation where the Executive and the Legislative departments are scrambling to investigate and correct the massive errors and abuses, with the judicial branches making hypothetical decisions. At this point, what should be the most pressing concern is the existing and potential damage of these events to society, governance, and the government.
The current administration is in damage control as the fiasco happened mostly in the time of this government with their appointed people. With the previous graft and corruption issues in the Bureau of Customs, PCSO, PhilHealth, Department of Tourism, and other executive branches, and the avowed presidential campaign against graft and corruption, this will be a big blow to the credibility of this government and its satisfaction rating. The damage is done and the next quarterly opinion survey results will show how much it has and will affect the government.
On a broader perspective, this issue brings to the fore the selective and economically influenced administration of justice in the Philippines. There are criticisms that the “Drug War” is harsher on the lower class than on the middle/upper class Filipinos. The small, poor drug users and pushers are caught and killed while the bigtime suppliers are free.
There is also the belief that justice in this country favors the moneyed class who can afford expensive lawyers. And now even in prison they are accorded luxuries and are ahead of the line in the granting of the GCTA and other early release options. “Life is not fair” and this is accepted by most people, but it is the task of governments to minimize this unfairness and not to flaunt it when it does.
The only saving grace of this issue is that the government is reacting this way, which means it still believes in truth and justice as pillars in its governance. It would be tragic if, like the recent recollections on the rule of Mugabe in Zimbabwe, it would use coercion and brutality to impose its will.
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