Palace expects truth to come out with suspension of BuCor execs

FILE: New Bilibid Prison (Photo By Jovie Naval via Bureau of Corrections/Website)

MANILA — Malacañang expects the truth to come out after the Office of the Ombudsman suspended 27 officials of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) for six months over the release of nearly 2,000 heinous crime convicts under the controversial Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.

This comes after President Rodrigo Duterte called on the Ombudsman to investigate sacked BuCor chief Nicanor Faeldon and other officials last September 3.

Duterte also urged all heinous crime convicts released under the GCTA law to surrender to police or military.

“Hindi ba sabi ni Presidente simula’t sapul dapat i-refer sa Ombudsman para (Wasn’t it the President himself who, since the beginning, referred the matter to the Ombudsman so that) it will conduct its investigation and apparently they found probable cause hence the suspension of 27 officials of that office,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a Palace briefing on Tuesday.

“Si Presidente nga nag-refer sa kanila kaya dapat welcome lahat yun (It was the President who referred the matter to them so it’s a welcome development),” he added.

Panelo expressed hope that with this development, the truth on suspected corruption within the BuCor will come out.

“The expectation is we want the truth on the matter on the bureau to come out so that heads will roll,” Panelo said.

On Monday, Ombudsman Samuel Martires signed an order suspending 27 BuCor officials for “the alleged anomalous release of prison convicts.”

The order found “strong” evidence pointing to irregularities in the release of the prisoners based on testimonies of witnesses and public documents.

The suspended officials currently face charges of grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, which may eventually result in their removal from office.

Despite controversies hounding the BuCor, Duterte said he still trusts Faeldon but will no longer reappoint him to another agency as he did in the past.

Prior to being BuCor chief, Faeldon was also Office of Civil Defense deputy administrator and Bureau of Customs (BOC) chief.

Duterte described Faeldon as an “honest” man, recalling his experience with him as then BOC chief at the time PHP3.2 billion worth of Mighty Corp. cigarettes with fake tax stamps were seized in Bulacan.