MANILA — Some political prisoners may have already completed their sentences but remain behind bars because prison authorities failed to properly account for time credits required by law, according to Kapatid, a support organization of families and friends of political prisoners.
The group raised the issue during a dialogue with newly appointed Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Chief J/Dir. Efren A. Nemeño on September 1 at the House of Representatives.
Hosted by ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, the meeting brought together Kapatid spokesperson Fides Lim, Health Action for Human Rights officer Victoria Neri, Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co, and BJMP officials to discuss concerns raised by political prisoners, their families, and human rights advocates.
Kapatid said the continued failure to integrate time allowances earned by prisoners while under BJMP custody into their official Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) records has contributed to prolonged detention and forced some inmates to seek costly legal remedies simply to secure their release.
For the group, the issue reflects more than a bureaucratic lapse.
It raises questions about whether prisoners are being deprived of liberty beyond what the law allows.
Years behind bars
At the top of Kapatid’s six-point agenda was the immediate computation, transmission, and integration of time allowances earned by 11 political prisoners currently under BuCor custody.
According to official BuCor records transmitted to Kapatid in May 2026, several of these prisoners have spent more than 20 years in detention.
The group said some prisoners’ credited service, including Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA), already amounts to between 31 and 35 years.
Republic Act No. 10592 expanded the GCTA system by allowing deductions from prison sentences for good behavior and participation in rehabilitation and educational programs.
Kapatid said official records still show zero credited time allowances earned during the prisoners’ previous detention under the BJMP.
The group argued that these missing credits prevent authorities from accurately determining whether a prisoner has already completed a sentence.
“These zero BJMP credits in official carpetas trap PDLs in a deep administrative limbo that directly causes illegal over-detention and exacerbates extreme congestion,” Lim said.
Kapatid said the omitted credits indicate that several prisoners may already have fully served their sentences and could be entitled to immediate release once the records are properly reconciled.
The group urged the BJMP to immediately transmit certified records of GCTA, Time Allowance for Study, Teaching and Mentoring, and other applicable credits for review by the joint BuCor-BJMP Management, Screening and Evaluation Committee.
It also called for an automated and mandatory inter-agency system that would ensure earned credits automatically follow a prisoner upon transfer from BJMP custody to BuCor facilities.
Paying for freedom
Kapatid said the failure to integrate prison credits has created another burden that falls most heavily on poor prisoners and their families.
Instead of receiving timely release evaluations, some detainees resort to filing petitions for habeas corpus to compel authorities to act on records that prison agencies should already be maintaining.
A writ of habeas corpus allows courts to determine whether a person’s continued detention remains lawful.
Kapatid argued that prisoners should not have to spend money on court proceedings simply to force agencies to perform responsibilities already mandated by law.
“PDLs should not have to go to court and pay for a habeas corpus petition simply to compel prison agencies to perform duties that the GCTA law, Republic Act 10592, requires them to perform,” Lim said.
The group described such petitions as anti-poor because many families already struggle to shoulder the daily costs of supporting detained relatives.
Those expenses often include food, medicine, transportation, and other basic needs that prisons do not adequately provide.
Kapatid cited one case in which a political prisoner paid a P40,000 down payment to a private lawyer to file a habeas corpus petition.
The family was reportedly expected to pay another P40,000 in succeeding fees, excluding appearance costs and documentary expenses.
Kapatid said it advised against the arrangement because the prisoner had already secured free legal assistance through the De La Salle University Law Clinic.
For families with limited incomes, the organization said such legal costs place justice beyond reach.
The group argued that freedom should not depend on a prisoner’s ability to hire a lawyer to correct government errors.
A system that fails the poor
Kapatid said the issue also highlights broader structural problems within the country’s detention system.
Human rights groups have long identified prolonged detention, delayed case resolution, and administrative inefficiencies as major causes of jail and prison congestion.
The organization said every prisoner who remains incarcerated beyond the lawful duration of detention occupies limited space in facilities that are already overcrowded.
Failure to properly record and transmit earned time allowances, Kapatid argued, effectively extends imprisonment beyond what the law requires.
The group said prisoners bear the consequences of mistakes they did not commit.
Families, meanwhile, continue to shoulder the financial and emotional burden of every additional month or year spent in detention because of administrative inaction.
“Resolving this gap offers Gen. Nemeño a tangible legacy opportunity before his mandatory retirement at age 56 on June 18, 2027,” Lim said.
Kapatid said meaningful reform requires institutional changes rather than case-by-case interventions.
The group maintained that prison credits should move seamlessly between agencies and should never disappear because of bureaucratic failures.
Rights beyond imprisonment
The issue of over-detention formed only one part of the agenda presented to BJMP officials.
Kapatid also called for a moratorium on mandatory cashless trust-fund systems following the reported disappearance of approximately P7 million from funds belonging to women prisoners at the Correctional Institution for Women.
The group urged authorities to guarantee prisoners’ access to independently chosen doctors and specialized medical care, citing protections under Republic Act No. 7438.
It also pushed for clearer nationwide guidelines on paralegal visitation, more humane conjugal visit policies, and longer e-dalaw sessions for families who cannot regularly travel to detention facilities.
Kapatid likewise called for safeguards against visits by military personnel, intelligence agents, and foreign law enforcement officers without the presence of legal counsel.
The organization also sought the removal of restrictions on food and canned goods brought by families, arguing that such limitations often force prisoners to purchase necessities inside detention facilities.
While the concerns differ, Kapatid said they point to the same principle.
The organization argued that imprisonment removes liberty but does not extinguish fundamental rights.
Prisoners, it said, remain entitled to due process, healthcare, family contact, legal representation, and humane treatment.
Rights and dignity
Kapatid welcomed what it described as Nemeño’s openness during the dialogue.
“We appreciate Gen. Nemeño’s candid and friendly manner—a good opening for constructive engagement,” Lim said.
The group said it hopes that openness will translate into immediate and measurable action.
For Kapatid, the issue extends beyond the 11 political prisoners whose records prompted the dialogue.
The organization said the continued reliance on expensive habeas corpus petitions reveals a deeper problem in the prison system.
When prisoners must spend tens of thousands of pesos to prove they have already earned their freedom, Kapatid argued, the burden of correcting government mistakes falls on the very people least able to afford it.
The group said release should depend on the faithful implementation of the law, not on a prisoner’s capacity to pay for legal remedies that should never have been necessary in the first place. (RVO)
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