If former Calauan, Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez, a convicted rapist and murderer, would be released from prison, then it will be a “mockery of the law and justice system,” Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said on Saturday, August 24.
“Kailangan niyang panagutan hanggang sa huling minuto ang hatol sa kanya (He needs to pay what was meted on him until the last minute). He must serve his entire sentence. Kapag pinalaya natin ‘yan nang maaga (If we release him early), we would have punctured a hole in our own justice system,” Año stressed.
The DILG chief issued this statement following reports that Sanchez might walk free due to the retroactive applications of the law that increased good conduct time allowance (GCTA) for prisoners.
Sanchez was sentenced in 1995 to seven counts of reclusion perpetua, or up to 40 years of imprisonment, over the 1993 rape-slay case of Mary Eileen Sarmenta and the murder of Allan Gomez, both were students of University of the Philippines-Los Baños.
Año said the DILG, which supervises the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), supports the position of the Department of Justice (DOJ) that Sanchez is ineligible to avail of GCTA as it is “categorical in excluding recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapees, and persons charged with heinous crimes from the benefits of its coverage.”
With that being said, Año stressed that the former mayor “inarguably does not stand a chance of being released anytime soon.”
“He cannot be released on the basis of GCTA. On the contrary, ang GCTA po mismo ang nagbabawal na palayain ang mga kriminal na tulad niya (the GCTA itself bans the release of criminals like him),” the DILG secretary continued.
The Palace on Friday said President Rodrigo Duterte won’t allow Sanchez’s early release.
“Mr. Sanchez, under Republic Act 10592, is not eligible, so the President as the chief enforcer of the law will have to follow the law,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.
The former mayor’s possible freedom has sparked outrage from the public as well as some government officials. An online petition was also launched urging the government to stop his release.