Convicts freed due to GCTA law start surrendering - Albayalde
By AJ Siytangco
Published Sep 6, 2019 01:47 pm
By Martin Sadongdong
At least 13 out of the total 1,914 convicts of heinous crimes who were freed due to the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law have voluntarily surrendered to authorities after President Duterte ordered for their re-arrest, the Philippine National Police (PNP) bared Friday.
PNP chief Police General Oscar Albayalde
(KEVIN TRISTAN ESPIRITU / MANILA BULLETIN) PNP data showed 11 convicts surrendered in Cagayan Valley (Region 2); one in National Capital Region (NCR); and one in Central Visayas (Region 7), as of 12 midnight of September 5. Five of them were convicted of murder; three of rape; two of robbery with rape; and one each of murder and robbery, attempted rape with homicide, and drug-related charge. "Maganda po ang lumalabas na marami na ang nagsurrender (It's good that a lot have already surrendered). Ang iba ay dumidiretso accordingly sa BuCor at sa atin (Accordingly, some of them went straight to BuCor while some surrendered to us)," Albayalde said in a radio interview over DZRH. "Kusang sumurrender ito at ang iba naman ay mga kaibigan ng pulis kaya po sila ay dinala sa pinakamalapit na himpilan ng pulisya (They all surrendered voluntarily, some are friends of the police so they were escorted to the nearest police station)," he added. One of the returnees was Nicanor Naz, who surrendered to the Pasay City Police around 3 p.m. on Thursday, said National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Director Guillermo Eleazar. Naz was convicted of a drug-related offense and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was released from Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Davao del Norte on July 11, 2019 pursuant to a memorandum issued by sacked Bureau of Corrections chief Nicanor Faeldon. He had served 40 years in prison. Albayalde said the returning inmates were subjected to documentation and medical examination before they were temporarily detained at the local police stations. They will be turned over to the BuCor. Meanwhile, tracker teams from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) which are created to run after the released convicts will be deployed across the country after the 15-day grace period given to the released convicts. "Our tracker teams from the CIDG are on-standby mode. After the grace period, we will start the arrests," Albayalde said. Duterte ordered on Wednesday night the re-arrest of 1,914 convicts released due to the GCTA law. The President gave a 15-day grace period for the released convicts to surrender or they will be re-arrested by the police and military. While some argued that it would be a violation of the law to re-arrest the released convicts, Albayalde argued that they could now be considered fugitives since their release was prohibited under the GCTA law. Under Republic Act 10592, inmates convicted of heinous crimes shall not be beneficiaries of the law. Albayalde said they will focus on monitoring and tracking the locations of those involved in sensational cases, such as those involved in the Chiong rape-slay case. Faeldon earlier confirmed the release of three suspects convicted in the 1997 case of sisters Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong in Cebu. They were Josman Aznar, Ariel Balansag, and Alberto Cano. "We will look for them. So far, we have not received any information that they have gone out of the country," he said. The PNP will also focus on monitoring those who were convicted of drug-related charges, especially Chinese drug lords. "It's likely that some of them will try to go out of the country. We have coordinated with the Interpol . They can be rearrested by the Interpol if they have a red notice," Albayalde said.
PNP chief Police General Oscar Albayalde(KEVIN TRISTAN ESPIRITU / MANILA BULLETIN) PNP data showed 11 convicts surrendered in Cagayan Valley (Region 2); one in National Capital Region (NCR); and one in Central Visayas (Region 7), as of 12 midnight of September 5. Five of them were convicted of murder; three of rape; two of robbery with rape; and one each of murder and robbery, attempted rape with homicide, and drug-related charge. "Maganda po ang lumalabas na marami na ang nagsurrender (It's good that a lot have already surrendered). Ang iba ay dumidiretso accordingly sa BuCor at sa atin (Accordingly, some of them went straight to BuCor while some surrendered to us)," Albayalde said in a radio interview over DZRH. "Kusang sumurrender ito at ang iba naman ay mga kaibigan ng pulis kaya po sila ay dinala sa pinakamalapit na himpilan ng pulisya (They all surrendered voluntarily, some are friends of the police so they were escorted to the nearest police station)," he added. One of the returnees was Nicanor Naz, who surrendered to the Pasay City Police around 3 p.m. on Thursday, said National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Director Guillermo Eleazar. Naz was convicted of a drug-related offense and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was released from Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Davao del Norte on July 11, 2019 pursuant to a memorandum issued by sacked Bureau of Corrections chief Nicanor Faeldon. He had served 40 years in prison. Albayalde said the returning inmates were subjected to documentation and medical examination before they were temporarily detained at the local police stations. They will be turned over to the BuCor. Meanwhile, tracker teams from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) which are created to run after the released convicts will be deployed across the country after the 15-day grace period given to the released convicts. "Our tracker teams from the CIDG are on-standby mode. After the grace period, we will start the arrests," Albayalde said. Duterte ordered on Wednesday night the re-arrest of 1,914 convicts released due to the GCTA law. The President gave a 15-day grace period for the released convicts to surrender or they will be re-arrested by the police and military. While some argued that it would be a violation of the law to re-arrest the released convicts, Albayalde argued that they could now be considered fugitives since their release was prohibited under the GCTA law. Under Republic Act 10592, inmates convicted of heinous crimes shall not be beneficiaries of the law. Albayalde said they will focus on monitoring and tracking the locations of those involved in sensational cases, such as those involved in the Chiong rape-slay case. Faeldon earlier confirmed the release of three suspects convicted in the 1997 case of sisters Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong in Cebu. They were Josman Aznar, Ariel Balansag, and Alberto Cano. "We will look for them. So far, we have not received any information that they have gone out of the country," he said. The PNP will also focus on monitoring those who were convicted of drug-related charges, especially Chinese drug lords. "It's likely that some of them will try to go out of the country. We have coordinated with the Interpol . They can be rearrested by the Interpol if they have a red notice," Albayalde said.