1717 convicts surrendered before the deadline, DOJ says
(Eagle News)–Over 1700 convicts released under the Good Conduct Time Allowance law have surrendered, as the deadline imposed by President Rodrigo Duterte for them to do so lapsed at midnight.
With the final figure of 1717 as of 11 p.m., Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete said the Department of Justice would now firm up its list of those who have yet to surrender, and which would be submitted to the DILG.
Earlier, Perete said the list would include details about the convict, who would now be subjected to a warrantless arrest.
President Rodrigo Duterte had said those who failed to beat the deadline would be treated as fugitives.
The National Capital Region Police Office has said it would deploy tracker teams to locate the 176 convicts from Metro Manila who did not surrender, and whose city addresses were within the 26 of 38 NCRPO police stations areas of responsibility.
The number, NCRPO Chief Guillermo Eleazar said, was initially 202, but of this, 21 surrendered in police stations, three directly to the Bureau of Corrections, while two died of natural causes.
“On the other hand, 27 (persons deprived of liberty) have surrendered though not recorded as residents of Metro Manila, making a total of 51 surrenderees,” Eleazar said.
“I am confident that our people will be encouraged to come forward and present information to our authorities of their knowledge on these convicts,” Eleazar added.
The President had announced a P1-million reward for the arrest of any of the convicts who failed to surrender.
