By Hannah Torregoza
The Senate has released the two witnesses that sought protection after testifying in the Upper Chamber’s investigation into the alleged “Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) for sale” racket and anomalies inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
Senate of the Philippines (MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Sen. Richard Gordon, chair of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights that led the inquiry into the GCTA issue last year, confirmed this saying he signed the release papers of Godfrey Gamboa, a former inmate inside the NBP, and Yolanda Camilon, his common-law-wife.
Both Gamboa and Camilon testified before the committee that some Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officials were in cahoots with some moneyed and influential convicts seeking an early release from prison by taking advantage of the loopholes in the GCTA law.
The couple spent at least four months under the Senate’s custody since September, 2019, spending the Christmas season and New Year at the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms (OSSAA).
The Senate probe into the “GCTA for sale” issue cropped up when it was learned that then Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) director Nicanor Faeldon approved the early release of former mayor Calauan, Laguna mayor Antonio Sanchez who was convicted of murder and rape.