Application sa probation sa bumabang kaparusahan alinsunod sa Republic Act No. 10951

ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta - @Magtanong Kay Attorney | August 21, 2021

Dear Chief Acosta,

Nagkaroon na ako ng talong desisyon mula sa korte noong 2018. Kaugnay nito, nang maisabatas ang Republic Act (R. A.) No. 10951, maaari diumanong bumaba ang aking penalty sa apat na taon mula sa 20 taon na maximum bago ang R. A. No. 10951. Dahil dito, kung sakaling mabago ang aking penalty at bumaba sa anim na taon, maaari ba akong mag-apply ng probation? – Gerz

Dear Gerz,

Ang sagot po sa inyong katanungan ay opo. Para sa inyong kaalaman, nakasaad Section 4 ng Presidential Decree No. 968 (Establishing a Probation System, Appropriating Funds Therefor and For Other Purposes), na inamyendahan ng Republic Act No. 10707 (An Act Amending Presidential Decree No. 968, Otherwise Known As the “Probation Law of 1976” As Amended), ang alituntunin sa pagbibigay ng probation:

“SEC. 4. Grant of Probation. - Subject to the provisions of this Decree, the trial court may, after it shall have convicted and sentenced a defendant for a probationable penalty and upon application by said defendant within the period for perfecting an appeal, suspend the execution of the sentence and place the defendant on probation for such period and upon such terms and conditions as it may deem best. No application for probation shall be entertained or granted if the defendant has perfected the appeal from the judgment of conviction: Provided,That when a judgment of conviction imposing a non-probationable penalty is appealed or reviewed, and such judgment is modified through the imposition of a probationable penalty, the defendant shall be allowed to apply for probation based on the modified decision before such decision becomes final. X x x. (Binigyang-diin)

Kaugnay ng nabanggit na batas, nilinaw ng Korte Suprema kamakailan lamang sa kasong Aguinaldo vs. People (G.R. No. 226615, January 13, 2021), isinulat ni Honorable Associate Justice Estela M. Perlas-Bernabe, na maaaring magamit ang prebilehiyo ng Batas sa Probation kapag ang nabagong kaparushan alinsunod sa Republic Act No. 10951 ay naging probationable, viz:

“In this regard, the Court further elucidated that "a sentence which imposes upon the defendant in a criminal prosecution a penalty in excess of the maximum which the court is authorized by law to impose for the offense for which the defendant was convicted, is void for want or excess of jurisdiction as to the excess.

Thus, in view of the Court's pronouncement in Bigler, the provisions of RA 10951, the Indeterminate Sentence Law, and considering further the absence of any mitigating or aggravating circumstances, the proper penalty to be imposed on petitioner should be four (4) months x x x

In sum, the Court deems it proper to lift the Entry of Judgment dated January 14, 2019 in order to modify the penalty imposed on petitioner as explained above. Notably, this reduction of penalty entitles petitioner to apply for probation, pursuant to RA 10707 which allows an accused-convict to apply for probation in the event that he/she is sentenced to a non-probationable penalty by the trial court but subsequently modified by the appellate court to a probationable penalty.” (Binigyang diin)

Sana ay nabigyan namin ng linaw ang inyong katanungan. Ang payong aming ibinigay ay base lamang sa mga impormasyon na inyong inilahad at maaaring magbago kung mababawasan o madaragdagan ang mga detalye ng inyong salaysay.

Maraming salamat sa inyong patuloy na pagtitiwala.