Answer the following questions and write it in a ½ crosswise.

1.Can you define what executive clemency means in the

context of the Philippines, and how do you think it might be
used in the legal system?

2.Have you ever heard of pardons or amnesty being granted

to individuals convicted of crimes in the Philippines? If so,
what do you understand about how these pardons are given
and their impact on the individuals involved?
It is the authority of the President to suspend the
execution of penalty, reduce the sentence, and
extinguish criminal liability.
• Commutation of Sentence
• Reprieve
• Amnesty
• Pardon (Absolute &
Conditional)
•One who is granted clemency does not have
the crime forgotten but is forgiven and
treated more leniently for the criminal acts.

•Executive Clemency is an executive function

and not a function of the judiciary.
•It is also a non- delegable power, and it can
only be exercised by the President of the
Philippines.

• It is the plenary power of the President to

grant (CRAP).
• The Board of Pardons and Parole may consider
cases for executive clemency upon petition, or
referral by the Office of the President, or motu
proprio.
• The BPP shall recommend to the President the
grant of executive clemency when the following
extraordinary circumstances are present such;
a. The trial court in its decision recommended
the grant of executive clemency for the
prisoner.
b. Under the peculiar circumstances of the case,
the penalty imposed is too harsh compared
to the crime committed.
c. Evidence which the court failed to consider,
before conviction, which would have justified an
acquittal of the accused.

d. Prisoners who were over nine (9) years old but

under eighteen (18) years of age at the time of the
commission of the offense.
e. Prisoners who are 70 years old and above who
have served at least 5 years of their sentence or
those whose continued imprisonment is inimical to
their health as recommended by a physician
designated by the Department of Health or
designated by the Malacañang Clinic Director.
f. Prisoners who suffer from serious and life-
threatening illness/disease or severe physical
disability such as those who are totally blind,
paralyzed, bedridden, etc.

g. Alien prisoners where diplomatic considerations

and amity among nations necessitate review.
• Commutation of Sentence
• Reprieve
• Amnesty
• Pardon (Absolute &
Conditional)
• It is the reduction of the duration of a prison
sentence.
• It is a change of the decision of the court
made by the Chief Executive by reducing
the degree of the penalty inflicted upon the
convict, or by reducing the length of the
imprisonment or the amount of the fine.
• Sentenced to a fixed or determinate sentence, which
renders him or her in ineligible for parole.

• Changes the original fixed sentence to a lesser

indeterminate sentence, which will then enable the
beneficiary to be released on parole.
• Appropriate to use with convicts sentenced to
several counts.

• The sentence may be commuted to one single

indeterminate sentence through commutation and
rendering the recipient to avail of parole after
serving the minimum sentence.
• The petitioner must have served at least one-third (1/2)
or one-third (1/3) of the minimum of his indeterminate
sentence or definite sentence.

• At least ten (10) years in reclusion perpetua or life

imprisonment
• At least thirteen (13) years for inmates who's
indeterminate and/or definite prison term were adjusted
to a definite prison term of forty (40) years

• At least fifteen (15) years for prisoners convicted of

heinous crimes as defined in Republic Act No. 7659 and
sentenced to one (1) Reclusion Perpetua and one (1) Life
imprisonment.
• At least eighteen (18) years for inmates sentenced to
Reclusion Perpetua or life imprisonment for violation of
RA 9165, known as “The Comprehensive Dangerous
Drugs Act of 2002”, and for kidnapping for ransom, or
violation of the laws on terrorism, plunder, and
transnational crimes;

• At least twenty (20) years, for inmates sentenced to two

(2) or more Reclusion Perpetua or life imprisonment
• At least twenty-five (25) years for inmates originally
sentenced to death penalty but which was automatically
reduced or commuted to Reclusion Perpetua or life
imprisonment.
• The petitioner is eligible for parole;
• The petitioner had violated any condition of his
discharge on parole or conditional pardon; and
• The petitioner is suffering from mental illness or
disorder as certified by a government psychiatrist.
• When the convicted person sentenced to death is over
seventy years of age.
• When there is a failure to obtain the vote of affirmation
of eight justices of the supreme court en banc.
• In both cases the degree of penalty is reduced to reclusion
perpetua.
In Commutation of Sentence the Director of Corrections
shall forward the prison record and carpeta or a
petitioner/prisoner to the Board of Pardons and Parole
within at least one (1) month before the expiration of one-
third (1/3) of the minimum period of prisoner’s
indeterminate sentence and in special cases, at least one
(1) month before the period becomes qualified.
• Commutation of Sentence
• Reprieve
• Amnesty
• Pardon (Absolute &
Conditional)
• Deferment of the implementation of the sentence for
an interval of time; it does not annul the sentence but
merely postpones or suspends its execution;
• Generally, it is applied to death sentences already
affirmed by the Supreme Court.
• Like Pardon, the President can only exercise reprieve
when the sentence has become final.

• The date of execution of sentence is temporarily

postponed indefinitely to enable the Chief Executive to
thoroughly study the petition of the condemned man
for commutation of sentence or pardon.
• Commutation of Sentence
• Reprieve
• Amnesty
• Pardon (Absolute &
Conditional)
• A special form of pardon exercised by the
President with the concurrence of Congress.
• It is a general pardon extended to a certain
class of people who are usually political
offenders.
▪ Hasten a country's return to political normalcy by
putting behind it the animosities of the past
through a pardon that will open the door to living
normal lives for groups of people targeted by
amnesty.
▪ These groups were once involved in political activities
during certain troubled times like war or rebellion
and by making a gesture of the state forgetting past
destructive activities of political lives, the country in
turn will ensure its return to normalcy.
• The first one was under Presidential Proclamation no.
51 by then President Manuel Roxas amnestying those
who collaborated with Japanese during World War II.
• The second was Proclamation No. 75 issued by then
President Elpidio Quirino extending amnesty to leaders
and members of the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon
(HUKBALAHAP) or Huk and Pambansang Kaisahan ng
mga Magbubukid (PKM) which is an organization of
peasants fighting for agrarian reform and is part of the
communist underground movement.
Amnesty is for crimes of Rebellion, Sedition,
Illegal association, Assault, Resistance to
persons in authority, and Illegal possession of
firearms.
• Commutation of Sentence
• Reprieve
• Amnesty
• Pardon (Absolute &
Conditional)
At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:

• To understand what a pardon is and how it works in

the Philippines.
• To find out how pardons affect people and
communities in the Philippines.
• To understand how the President of the Philippines
decides to give a pardon.
• A form of executive clemency granted by the President
of the Philippines as a privilege extended to a convict as
a discretionary act of grace.
• It is the act of grace, proceeding from the power
entrusted with the execution of the laws, which exempts
the individual, on whom it is bestowed from the
punishment of the law inflicts for a crime he has
committed.
• The power to pardon, which is a form of
executive clemency, is given to the
President under section 19, article VII of
the Constitution.
The very essence of pardon is forgiveness or remission
of guilt. Pardon implies guilt. It does not erase the fact
of the commission of the crime and the conviction
thereof. It does not wash out the moral stain, It
involves forgiveness and not forgetfulness.

A pardon looks to the future, it is not retrospective. It

makes no amends for the past.
• Absolute pardon
• Conditional pardon
• It refers to a total extinction of criminal liability
of individual to whom it is granted without any
condition whatsoever and restores to the
individual his civil rights and remits the penalty
impose for the particular offense of which he was
convicted
a.To right a wrong
b.To normalized a tumultuous political
situation
1. Affidavits of at least two responsible
members of the community where the
petitioner resides.
2. The clearance from the police, courts and
prosecutors' office where the petitioner
resides.
• Favorably endorsed to the Board by the Secretary of National
Defense if the crime committed by the petitioner is against
national security such as rebellion, coup de état, or sedition;
• By the recommendation of Commission on Elections, in case of
violations of any election laws, rules and regulations.
• An application for Executive Clemency shall not be considered
during the pendency of an appeal filed by the petitioner from
the judgment of conviction.
• Is seeking an appointive/elective public position or
reinstatement in the government service;
• Needs medical treatment abroad which is not available
locally;
• Will take any government examination or
• Is immigrating
• For Absolute Pardon, after he has served his maximum
sentence or granted final release and discharge.
• However, the Board may consider a petition for
absolute pardon even before the grant of final release
and discharged under the provisions of sec 6, Act no.
4103 as amended when the petitioner;
• It refers to the exemption of an individual,
within certain limits or conditions; from
punishment that the law inflicts for the offense
he has committed resulting in the partial
extinction of his criminal liability.
• The pardonee should live in his designated
residence and shall not change his residence
without obtaining consent from the board.
• In cases of temporary need to leave the residence,
no permission is required but the whereabouts
should be given to the parole/ pardon officer.
• The pardonee shall not indulge in any injurious or
vicious habits and shall avoid persons and places
of disreputable character.
• That the pardonee shall not commit any crime.
▪ For Conditional Pardon, the petitioner must have
served at least one-half of the minimum of his
indeterminate sentence.

▪ In the case of a prisoner who is convicted of heinous

crime as defined in Republic Act No. 7659 and other
special penal laws, he shall have served at least one-half
(1/2) of the maximum of his original indeterminate
sentence
1. The petitioner is eligible for parole;

2. Prisoners who escaped or evaded service of sentence are

not eligible for a period of one (1) year from the date or
their last recommitment to prison or conviction for
evasion of service of sentence.
3. The prisoner is suffering from mental illness or disorder as
certified by a government psychiatrist; and

4. The prisoner had violated a conditional pardon, which

was previously granted before the expiration of his
maximum sentence.
Section 64 (i) of the Revised Administrative Code is still
in force, and that for any violation of a conditional
pardon, the President is authorized to order the arrest
and re-commitment of said violator to serve the
unexpired portion of his sentence.
Joseph "Erap" Estrada served as the 13th
President of the Philippines .
In 2007, he was convicted of plunder
and sentenced to life imprisonment,
making him the first Philippine
president to be convicted of such a
crime.
On October 25, 2007, Estrada was
granted an absolute pardon by then-
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The pardon restored his civil and
political rights, including the right to run
for public office.
Pardoned by Fidel V. Ramos.
•Robin Padilla – convicted for illegal
possession of firearms in 1994.
Conditional pardon from April 1997 to
2003.

•Pardon by Rodrigo Roa Duterte

•Convicted for illegal possession of
firearms in 1994. Granted absolute
pardon in 2016.