;Srln!!!' 
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
Il9llirr of tit€' ~~f""d.'lf~ 
'13 
JUL 31 
SENATE 
S.B. NO. 1191 
Introduced by SENATOR FERDINAND R. MARCOS, JR. 
Explanatory Note 
In one case, the Supreme Court declared that, "(t) he State is 
concemed not only in the imperative necessity of proteCting the social 
organization against the criminal acts of destructive individuals but also in 
redeeming the individual for economic usefulness and other social ends." 
(People of the Philippines vs. Valeriano Ducosin, G.R. No. L-38332, 
December 14, 1933) In another case, the Supreme Court acknowledged 
that, "the balancing of the state's interests ir deterrence and retributive 
justice vis-cl-Vis reformation and reintegration of convicts to society 
through penal laws belongs to the exclusive domain of the legislature." 
(People of the Philippines vs. Beth Temporada, G.R. No. 173473, December 
17,2008) 
Under our country's set-up, the Philippine corrections system is 
primarily composed of three (3) government agencies: the Department of 
Justice 
(DOJ), 
through the Bureau 
of Corrections 
(BUCOR); 
the 
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), through the Bureau 
of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP); and the Department of Social 
Welfare and Development (DSWD), through its rehabilitation centers for 
children in conflict with the law. 
True enough, aside from the safekeeping function, the correctional 
system, one of the five pillars of the Philippine Criminal Justice System, 
likewise "is concerned with the rehabilitation and reintegration of 
convicted offenders into the mainstream of society, upholding their 
human rights and dignity through speedy legal and administrative 
processes and provision of scientific and spiritual programs." (Dr. Romulo 
A. Virola, "Guilty and Not Guilty", Statistically Speaking, 12 September 
2011, 
National 
Statistics 
Coordination 
Board 
[NSCB] 
website: 
www.nscb.gQy',Qh/hec:r~lIin_es/Slgt~~eeakI20 11 /09121J~g~e, [accessed on 
25 June 2013]) In fact, the respective mandates of the agencies involved 
in the correctional system reflect these dual purposes. 
The Philippine legal system presently has in place Articles 97 and 98 
of the Revised Penal Code, which has been expanded by Republic Act 
No. 10592. Under Paragraph 5 of Article 97, "study" is recognized as one of 
the grounds for which a prisoner may be entitled to additional allowances 
for good conduct. 


, . 
This bill seeks to further enhance existing legislation on time 
allowances for prisoners that shall be credited against their respective 
prison sentences, through their satisfactory completion of the reading and 
reporting requirements of certain books deemed "essential" readings for 
Filipinos, i.e., philosophy, science, classics, literature, and Filipiniana. This 
prison sentence reduction scheme is akin to the "Redemption through 
Reading" 
(Remicao 
Pelo 
Leituro) 
program that was 
successfully 
implemented in Brazil in 2012. It is squarely consistent with the Revised 
Penal Code provisions. since reading essential or "great" books. writing 
reports, and oral reporting may be equated to "study" in accordance 
with Article 97 of the Revised Penal Code, 
On the one hand. the enhanced good conduct time allowances in 
this proposal can directly benefit the prisoners because of the reading, 
writing and speaking comprehension skills trainings. In fact. as of 2010, in 
BuCor-managed prisons, 44 out of 100 or 44% of prisoners are either 
illiterates or were not able to finish elementary school education. While, as 
of June 2013, the illiteracy rate among the prisoners in BJMP-managed 
prisons still stands at 3.72%. (Data from BJMP and NSCB) 
On the other hand, the proposed prison sentence reduction under 
this bill can indirectly benefit the national criminal justice system as it will 
assist in decongesting our jails and prisons in the long run. Especially. 
current statistics show that the BJMP-managed prisons are severely 
congested by a whopping 343%: meaning. 3 and a half additional human 
bodies are crammed into a prison space for one prisoner. (Data from 
BJMP) 
When prisoners show genuine interest and cooperation in the 
govemment's efforts to reform and educate them, it is the state's moral 
obligation to reciprocate their interest and cooperation with leniency and 
mercy. In this way, the State may promote productivity and industry in our 
penitentiaries, and at the'same tim'e. instill a sense of hope for eventual 
freedom and liberty among our prisoners. 
To symbolically highlight the importance of reading in our country, 
the recognition and announcement of the time allowances credited to 
participating prisoners under the Program shall be done in the month of 
November of every year, on the occasion of the National Reading Month. 
In view of thereof, the passage of this bill is earnestly requested. 
\ 
FERDIN 
D R. MARCOS, JR. 


. . 
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
'13 
JUL 31 
p 4 :28 
SENATE BILL No.~l 
____________________ -.,. ____ 
H_E_(_.;_'_'_,_ .. _HV:-f- \. 
Introduced by Senator FERDINAND R. MARCOS, JR. 
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A PROGRAM ENTITLING PRISONERS TO ADDITIONAL 
TIME CREDIT ALLOWANCES AGAINST THEIR PRISON SENTENCES, 
TO BE KNOWN AS THE "PAG-ASA NG PAGLAYA SA PAGBASA" PROGRAM, 
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of 
the Philippines in Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as "Pag-Asa ng Pag/aya 
so Pagbasa" Act. 
SECTION 2. Deciaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to 
promote the general welfare of prisoners in spite of their incarceration in 
our penitentiaries. While prisoners are under the safekeeping in our 
corrections systems, it is the State's responsibility not only to reform the 
prisoners but also to improve their overall well-being, including their 
literacy, culture and education. When prisoners show genuine interest and 
cooperation in the government's efforts to reform and educate them, it is 
the State's moral obligation to reciprocate their interest and cooperation 
with leniency and mercy. In this way, the State may promote productivity 
and industry in our penitentiaries, and at the same time, instill a sense of 
hope among our prisoners. Ultimately, the State hopes to directly achieve 
an improvement of the literacy rate among our prisoners, as a way to 
assist them in their future reintegration in the society, and indirectly, to 
contribute to jail decongestion, by way of enhancing the State's good 
conduct time allowances system under the Revised Penal Code. 
SECTION 3. "Pag-Asa ng Pag/aya so Pagbasa" Program - Without 
prejudice to Articles 94 and 97 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended 
by Republic Act No. 10592, detention prisoners and convicted prisoners 
shall be entitled to a reduction of five (5) days from their sentences for the 
satisfactory completion of the reading and reporting requirements of 
assigned books under Section 5 hereof. The satisfactory completion by the 
participating prisoners of the reading and reporting requirements shall be 
determined by a public school teacher from the Department of 
Education (DepEd) School Division in the locality where the prison, 
detention or rehabilitation center is located. 


SECTION 4. Coverage. -
Detention prisoners, including persons 
undergoing preventive imprisonment and children in conflict with the law 
that are in the custody of rehabilitation centers, and convicted prisoners 
in any penal institution, rehabilitation or detention center or any other 
local jail may join and participate in the Program on a purely voluntary 
basis. 
SECTION 5. Assigned Books. - Through the implementing rules and 
regulations under Section 10 hereof, the Department of Education shall 
choose and make a list of the assigned books to be included in the 
Program that shall cover subject areas such as the classics, philosophy, 
science, literature, and Filipiniana. 
SECTION 6. 
Completion Time. - Participating prisoners shall be 
entitled to a reading or study time of twenty (20) days per book. After 
completion of the reading and study, the participant shall be given five 
(5) days to work on a book report to be handwritten or orally presented by 
the participating 
prisoner and shall 
comply with the scholastic 
requirements set by the Program Committee through the implementing 
rules and regulations under Section 10 hereof. 
SECTION 7. Recognition, Certification or Notice of Time Credit 
Allowances for Satisfactory Completion. - Recognition of the satisfactory 
completion of the requirements by the participating prisoners shall be 
held in November of every year, on the occasion of the National Reading 
Month of the Philippines. 
Participating 
prisoners who shall 
have 
satisfactorily 
completed 
the 
reading 
and 
reporting 
requirements 
hereunder shall be entitled to a certificate of completion and/or written 
notice of their earned time credits or the total number of days reduced 
from their respective sentences for the particular year. 
SECTION 8. Limitations. - Participants shall be entitled to finish one 
book per month or a total of twelve (12) books per year. The total time 
credits or sentence reduction that can be eamed by a participant under 
the Program shall not exceed sixty (60) days per year. 
SECTION 9. Program Administration. - The time allowances that may 
be granted hereunder shall be granted and administered by the Director 
of the Bureau of Corrections, the Chief of the Bureau of Jail Management 
and Penology and/or the Warden of a provincial, district, municipal or city 
jail, upon favorable recommendation by the Department of Education. 
Such allowances once granted shall not be revoked. 
SECTION 
10. Penal Clause. -
The penalty of one (1) 
year 
imprisonment, a fine of One Hundred Thousand Pesos (J2.100,000.00) and 
perpetual disqualification to hold office shall be imposed against any 
public officer or employee who violates the provisions of this Act, or who 
shall assist, aid or abet the prisoners in the commission of intellectual 
dishonesty or cheating in the Program. Prisoners who shall be caught 
committing intellectual dishonesty or cheating in the Program shall suffer 
the penalty of five (5) days of imprisonment to be added to their 
respective sentences. 


SECTION 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within sixty (60) 
days from approval of this Act, the Department of Justice (DOJ), the 
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department 
of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Department of 
Education (DepEd) shall jointly promulgate the rules and regulations to 
implement the provisions of this Act. 
SECTION 12. 
Separability Clause. - The provIsions of this Act are 
hereby declared to be separable and if any clouse, sentence, provision 
or section of this Act or its application thereof to any person or 
circumstance should, for any reason, be held invalid or unconstitutional, 
such invalidity or unconstitutionality sholl not affect the other provisions or 
application of this Act which can be given force and effect. 
SECTION 
13. Repealing Clouse. -
All lows, decrees, charters, 
executive 
orders, 
administrative 
orders, 
proclamations, 
rules 
and 
regulations, or parts thereof insofar as they are inconsistent with the 
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
SECTION 14. Effectivity. - This Act shall toke effect fifteen (15) days 
after completion of publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper 
of general circulation. 
Approved,