MANILA.- A Visayas lawmaker has proposed that people convicted of heinous crimes be punished with "40 years of hard labor" in lieu of the death penalty.

Calling his proposal "qualified reclusion perpetua," House Deputy Majority Leader Eduardo Gullas said this "harsh form of life imprisonment" would also "include the accessory penalty requiring convicts to provide full compensation to the victims or their families."

"We will establish a new Victims' Compensation Fund," he said.

"Convicts will be required to perform productive hard labor in prison, and the earning derived therefrom will be put in the fund to be administered by the Department of Justice."

The 40 years in prison with productive hard labor will have no allowances for good behavior, he added.

Under Gullas' proposal, a person convicted of a heinous crime would be imprisoned for the rest of his life - a minimum of 40 years, or until he reaches the age of 70 - before becoming eligible for parole.
At present, those serving the terms are eligible for parole upon serving only half of their prison term, or after 15 to 20 years.

They are also entitled to good conduct credits, as well as reduction of sentence for preventive detention, or jail time served prior to conviction.

With exemplary behavior, a life-termer may qualify to get out of prison after serving less than 15 years.

Gullas said convicts who would be sentenced to the new penalty of qualified reclusion perpetua would not receive good behavior allowances or reduction of their sentences for preventive detention.
"This means the (heinous crime) convict must reach 70 or spend a minimum of 40 years in prison, excluding time served before conviction, even if he shows meritorious demeanor," he said.

On the other hand, Catanduanes Rep. Jopse Santiago, who is pro-life, said an efficient justice system that arrests and puts to jail criminals is the best way to deter crime, not the state-sanctioned death penalty.

"The death penalty clearly serves no purpose that could not be achieved by life imprisonment," he said. "the certainty of swift apprehension, prosecution, conviction and punishment is our best deterrence to crime."