Guevarra asks Ano to suspend arrest of remaining GCTA convicts who have not surrendered

September 20, 2019

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Friday asked Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano to suspend the arrest of convicts who were prematurely released due to good conduct time allowance, but who have not returned to the Bureau of Corrections despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s order for them to surrender.

“We requested that further law enforcement operations be suspended in the meantime,” Guevarra said in an interview over ABS-CBN news channel.

“That’s my request to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and it’s up to him really to make the call. But that’s my recommendation,” he added.

Duterte’s order for the 1,914 convicts to surrender after being released due to good conduct time allowance expired on midnight of September 19.

Guevarra said 1,717 GTCA convicts have turned themselves in to authorities and are now in BuCor’s custody, as of 11 pm of Sept. 19.

The 1,914 convicts were released since 2013 when Republic Act 10592 was passed.

The law revised provisions of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) and increased the GCTAs granted to inmates to allow their much earlier release

“We want to make sure that those remaining are actually people that need to be arrested,” Guevarra said, in explaining why there is a need for suspension of the arrest.

“Pending that verification, considering the number of those who have surrendered almost matched the original number 1,900 plus, then we deem it safe and prudent not to pursue any coercive law enforcement action at this time because we may unduly and unnecessarily endanger the life of not only the PDLs, but even the law enforcement agents,” he added. DMS