DOJ to issue lookout order vs. heinous crime convicts

FILE: Justice Secretary and Justice Sector Coordinating Council principal Menardo I. Guevarra lauds the innovations of the Angeles City Justice sector which qualified it to become a Justice Zone. (Carmela Jane F. Villar/PIA 3)

MANILA — The Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to issue an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) against nearly 2,000 heinous crimes convicts who were freed early due to the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.

During the continuation of a Senate inquiry on the controversial implementation of the GCTA law on Thursday, Senator Panfilo Lacson asked Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra if the department has already issued an ILBO against these former prisoners following President Rodrigo Duterte’s order for them to surrender to authorities within 15 days.

Guevarra said the DOJ will forward the list of high-profile convicts to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) so it can be alerted against these individuals in any of the country’s airports and seaports.

“We got the list of those PDLs (persons deprived of liberty) who were convicted of heinous crimes but were prematurely released on account of GCTA this morning,” Guevarra said.

“We have forwarded it to the Bureau of Immigration for appropriate action. It is actually the Department of Justice that will issue the ILBO and that will be addressed to the Bureau of Immigration. We will look into that immediately this morning,” he added.

A person subject to an ILBO can still leave the country subject to conditions and requirements, including clearance from the Justice department.

An ILBO is different from a court-issued hold departure order (HDO), since the former only directs the BI to be on the lookout for the subject and to verify the status of a case against the subject person and not to restrict an individual from leaving the country.

Duterte encouraged the 1,700 heinous crime convicts to surrender to the nearest police or military stations within 15 days after firing Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Nicanor Faeldon for “disobeying” his order to prohibit their release.

“Lahat (nang) nakulong at na-release sa batas na ito (All those jailed and released under this law), 1,900 of you, you surrender and have yourself registered with the BuCor,” Duterte said.

“I will give you 15 days liberty provided you make yourself available anytime that you will be called for investigation to have a recomputation or if there’s an investigation of corruption that you cooperate fully,” he added

He said heinous crime convicts who have been released but refuse to surrender will be treated as fugitives.

According to BuCor data, a total of 1,914 heinous crime convicts were released over the years since the GCTA law was implemented in 2014.