(Eagle News)–Senator Leila de Lima on Friday, Sept. 6, slammed Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo for blaming the Aquino administration for the Good Conduct Time Allowance law mess.
The implementing rules and regulations of the GCTA law or Republic Act 10592 that are the subject of a review by a joint Department of Justice and Department of the Interior and Local Government panel were crafted and passed in 2017, when De Lima was justice secretary, and when Mar Roxas was Interior secretary.
Panelo said the IRR had paved the way for the release of convicts of heinous crimes, noting that they included these convicts as qualified to avail of the benefits of RA No. 10592, which increases the GCTA given to inmates.
Section 1 of the law passed in 2013, Panelo said, had excluded convicts of heinous crimes from coverage of the law.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, who, along with Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, ordered the review of the IRR, noted a stand-alone provision that explicitly excludes those convicts from coverage of the law should have been included so as to prevent any other legal interpretation.
He also recommended an enumeration of what constitute heinous crimes.
“Sa oras ng laglagan sa Administrasyong Duterte, iisa lamang ang palaging palusot ng mga opisyales nito, ang ituro ang nakaraang Administrasyong Aquino..,” De Lima said.
According to De Lima, Panelo’s “fingerpointing” was after “mabuking sila pareho ni Faeldon..,” referring to sacked Bureau of Corrections chief Nicanor Faeldon.
De Lima noted that Faeldon admitted he signed the “memorandum of release” of former Calauan, Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez, “na klarong hindi karapat-dapat gantimpalaan ng GCTA,” while Panelo admitted referring the former mayor’s bid for executive clemency to the Board of Pardons and Parole.
Panelo has said he was constrained to refer the letter lest he be charged for not acting on the request and, among others, for giving undue advantage or disadvantage to a party.
President Rodrigo Duterte defended Panelo’s move.
The BPP denied Sanchez’s bid, citing the gravity of the crimes–the murder and rape of Eileen Sarmenta and the murder of her friend Allan Gomez in the 1990s— committed.
“Ang kakapal ng mga apog nila! Sila ang mga pumapalpak, sila ang mga nambabastos sa batas, at sila ang gabundok na ang mga kasalanan sa taumbayan, kami pa rin ang sinisisi,” De Lima said.
“Unbelievably shameless!” she added.
