(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte is slated to conduct his own investigation into the release of convicts of under the Good Conduct Time Allowance law.
Senator Bong Go, Duterte’s former longterm aide, said the President was particularly interested in knowing if there was corruption in their release.
A joint Department of Justice and Department of the Interior and Local Government is now looking into the implementing rules and regulations of the GCTA law, which increases the GCTA given to inmates, and the guidelines for the processing and computation of GCTA and is expected to release its recommendations in a few days.
The review was ordered by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra and Interior Secretary Eduardo Año following outrage over the reported possible release under the GCTA law of former Calauan, Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez, who was convicted of the murder and rape of Aileen Sarmenta and the murder of her friend Allan Gomez in the 1990s, a heinous crime.
There is legal opinion those convicted of heinous crimes, recidivists, habitual delinquents and escapees should be excluded from the coverage of the law, which the Supreme Court in June ruled should be applied retroactively to include inmates who were meted a final judgment prior to the passage of the measure in 2013.
Earlier during the hearing, Senator Risa Hontiveros raised the possibility the convicts who were subjected to release under the GCTA law were chosen by jail officials “at random” and based on preferential treatment.
BuCor officials who attended the hearing led by Faeldon noted they were willing to subject themselves to a lifestyle check to appease the public when asked by Senator Imee Marcos.
