House leader supports warrantless arrest for GCTA-freed inmates

In an ambush interview, House Committee on Justice chairman Vicente Veloso III said an arrest warrant is not needed to rearrest the prisoners who have not yet surrendered or voluntarily turned themselves in. (Pixabay Photo)

MANILA — A ranking lawmaker at the House of Representatives on Tuesday expressed support for the “warrantless arrest” of the remaining heinous crime convicts who were freed on Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) and have yet to surrender.

In an ambush interview, House Committee on Justice chairman Vicente Veloso III said an arrest warrant is not needed to rearrest the prisoners who have not yet surrendered or voluntarily turned themselves in.

“If you do not go back to Bucor (Bureau of Correction), then you’re evading your sentence. That’s a continuing crime,” the former Court of Appeals (CA) magistrate said.

Veloso made the statements two days before the end of the 15-day deadline to yield that President Rodrigo Duterte gave to the more than 1,900 convicts of heinous crime who were “prematurely” freed allegedly due to good conduct.

Latest records showed that only around 600 inmates have surrendered to the authorities and to BuCor.

Meanwhile, ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Eric Yap expressed elation over the completion and signing of the new Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 10592 or the GCTA Law.

Included in the revised IRR is a clarified provision stating “recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapists and those convicted of heinous crimes” are disqualified to benefit from the GCTA.

As a guide on what heinous crimes are, the revised IRR has adopted the definition of heinous crimes under Republic Act 7659 or the Death Penalty Law as well as Supreme Court jurisprudence.

Under the Death Penalty Law, heinous crimes are the following: murder, rape, big-time drug trafficking, kidnapping for ransom, treason, piracy, qualified bribery, parricide, infanticide, plunder, kidnapping and serious illegal detention, robbery with violence or intimidation, qualified vehicle theft, and arson.

For transparency, the revised IRR also included the publication of the names of “persons deprived of liberties” (PDLs) that may be due for release because of GCTA on the website of concerned government agencies such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the BuCor.

Yap said the GCTA issue, as well as the reported involvement of BuCor officials in the controversy, should not stop with the issuance of the revised IRR.

“Hindi nararapat na dito matapos ang issue ng GCTA at mga naging pagkakamali nito. Patuloy tayong mananawagan upang mapanagot ang mga umabuso dito na mga tiwaling opisyal ng pamahalaan. Tiwali man sila o sadyang incompetent, dapat may mapanagot sa napakalaking gusot na dinulot nila,” Yap said.

(It is not right that this should be the end of the GCTA issue and the mistakes committed here. We will continue to call for the accountability of corrupt officials who have abused the law. Be they be truly corrupt or just plain incompetent, somebody should be made liable for the big mess they caused.)