Over 1,500 rapists, murderers released through GCTA since 2013 —solon

by —KBK, GMA News, Aug 30, 2019

Over 1,500 convicted rapists and murderers have been released from prison due to “good conduct” from 2013 to 2019, according to PBA party-list Representative Jericho Nograles, citing Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) data.

In a Facebook post, Nograles said from 2013, a total of 22,049 convicts were released due to the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA).

Of that number, 1,914 were convicted of heinous crimes broken down as follows:

3 Destructive arson
5 Kidnapping with serious illegal detention
29 Parricide
48 Dangerous drugs
274 Robbery with violence
758 Rape
797 Murder

GCTAs are provided for by Republic Act No. 10592, a 2013 law that amends a number of provisions of the Revised Penal Code on time allowances and credit for preventive imprisonment of inmates.

The Supreme Court declared last June that the law should be applied retroactively, or even on cases that took place before the enactment of the measure. This led to the BuCor processing GCTAs that may be granted to thousands of inmates who have been detained since the 1990s.

BuCor refuses to release names

Interviewed on Dobol B sa News TV on Friday, Nograles said they requested BuCor for the list of names of the released convicts through an August 23 letter addressed to BuCor chief Nicanor Faeldon. The letter, however, went unanswered.

“At nangyari po, hindi nila sinagot yung aking sulat at sa aming constant na follow-up sa kanilang opisina, sa pagtatawag sa kanilang landline, ay sumagot yung isa nilang executive assistants ni Director Faeldon at sinabi na hindi nila iri-release yung mga pangalan ng kanilang mga pinakawalang convict,” he said.

Nograles said he finds the release of hundreds of rapists and murderers as “kagulat-gulat” (shocking).

He noted that according to Malacañang’s recent statement, persons convicted of heinous crimes should not benefit from GCTA.