(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to re-arrest the 1700 convicts who were released under the Good Conduct Time Allowance law is based on jurisprudence, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said.
Guevarra in particular noted People of the Philippines vs. Fidel Tan, and City Warden of the Manila City Jail vs. Raymond S. Estrella, where the Supreme Court ordered the re-arrest of inmates after the GCTA credited to them were found to be “invalid.”
In the first case, the SC also ruled the provincial jail warden who allowed the release of a convict who had been detained in a jail facility instead of in the New Bilibid Prison had “usurped” the authority of the Bureau of Corrections director-general in doing so.
It said this was in violation of Article 99 of the Revised Penal Code.
The article, upon amendment by the GCTA law, now reads: “Whenever lawfully justified, the Director of the Bureau of Corrections, the Chief of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and/or the Warden of a provincial, district, municipal or city jail shall grant allowances for good conduct. Such allowances once granted shall not be revoked.”
In the second case, the SC reversed a lower court’s ruling that found that the certifications of good conduct issued by a city jail warden for 34 inmates were “sufficient basis” for their release.
In doing this, the SC cited People vs. Tan, which it said vested the authority to grant such allowances only on the BuCor director-general.
It also justified its order to have the inmates re-arrested, saying this “can be done without placing them in double jeopardy of being punished for the same offense because their re-incarceration is merely a continuation of the penalties that they had not completely served due to the invalid crediting of good conduct time allowances in their favor.”
On Wednesday, Sept. 4, President Duterte gave 1700 convicts released under the GCTA law 15 days to surrender, or be treated as a fugitive if they failed to do so.
The President issued the order following the release of convicts of heinous crimes under the GCTA law, and the near-release of former Calauan, Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez, who was convicted of the rape and murder of Eileen Sarmenta and the murder of her friend Allan Gomez in the 1990s.
Senate President Tito Sotto has said he received “A1” information “millions” of pesos were paid in the Bureau of Corrections for the release of select convicts.
President Duterte had already sacked BuCor director-general Nicanor Faeldon over the mess.
