Amendments to Indeterminate Sentence Law

Acts No. 4225 amends Sections 1, 2, and 8 of Act No. 4103.
Section 1 revises the rule on how courts must impose indeterminate sentences.
Section 2 revises the exclusions from the indeterminate sentence framework.
Section 8 revises the parole surveillance consequences and re-arrest mechanism.

Section 1 requires courts to impose an indeterminate sentence for offenses within the Revised Penal Code (or amendments), based on attending circumstances.
Section 1 requires courts to impose an indeterminate sentence for offenses punished by any other law, subject to the maximum and minimum boundaries set by that law.
Section 1 fixes the indeterminate sentence as having both a maximum term and a minimum term tied to statutory penalty ranges.
Section 8 governs the consequences when a parolee violates parole conditions during the period of surveillance.

Section 1 provides that for an offense punished by the Revised Penal Code (or its amendments), the court must impose an indeterminate sentence.
For Revised Penal Code offenses, Section 1 requires the maximum term to be that which could be properly imposed under the Code’s rules, considering attending circumstances.
For Revised Penal Code offenses, Section 1 requires the minimum term to be within the range of the penalty next lower to that prescribed by the Code for the offense.
For offenses punished by any other law, Section 1 requires an indeterminate sentence where:
- the maximum term shall not exceed the maximum fixed by that law; and
- the minimum term shall be not less than the minimum term prescribed by that law.

Section 2 excludes from the operation of Act No. 4103 persons convicted of offenses punished with death penalty or life imprisonment.
Section 2 excludes persons convicted of treason, conspiracy or proposal to commit treason.
Section 2 excludes persons convicted of misprision of treason, rebellion, sedition or espionage.
Section 2 excludes persons convicted of piracy.
Section 2 excludes habitual delinquents.
Section 2 excludes persons who:
- escaped from confinement or evaded sentence; or
- violated the terms of a conditional pardon by the Chief Executive.
Section 2 excludes persons whose maximum term of imprisonment does not exceed one year.
Section 2 excludes persons already sentenced by final judgment at the time of approval of Acts No. 4225, subject to Section 5 of Act No. 4103.

Section 3 amends Section 8 of Act No. 4103 to authorize the Board of Indeterminate Sentence to issue an order for re-arrest.
Section 8 (as amended) applies when a prisoner released on parole violates conditions of parole during the period of surveillance.
The re-arrest order issued by the Board of Indeterminate Sentence may be served in any part of the Philippine Islands by any police officer.
After re-arrest, the parolee must serve the remaining unexpired portion of the maximum sentence for which he was originally committed to prison.
Section 8 (as amended) gives the Board discretion: the Board may, in its discretion, grant a new parole to the re-arrested prisoner.