Zubiri seeks exclusion of heinous crime convicts from ‘good conduct’ rule
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri. INQUIRER.net photo / CATHY MIRANDA
MANILA, Philippines — Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said he would file a bill excluding convicts heinous crimes from being released due to good conduct, saying such individuals “are too dangerous to release back in the streets.”
“We intend to go back to work tomorrow armed with possible amendments to that Good [C]onduct Law by making it specific that [c]onvicts of heinous crimes especially those such as [m]urder, drug trafficking, [k]idnap for [r]ansom and other highly dangerous criminals cannot avail of the program PERIOD,” Zubiri told reporters in a viber message on Monday.
He was referring to Republic Act 10592 which increased the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) given to prisoners. The GCTA provides additional time to be deducted from an inmate’s prison sentence as a reward for his or her good behavior.
“Th[ese] individuals are too dangerous to release back in the streets and imagine the families and individuals who testified against them will be in extreme danger,” the senator went on.
“All a dangerous criminal has to do is to pretend to be very nice for a decade and then applies for the program and he is released from his predicament only to get back at those who filed and testified against him,” he added, noting that possibly witnesses may be afraid to testify against criminals of heinous crimes.
Zubiri said such instances have happened in other countries, including the United States, where criminals released on good behavior had become recidivist and preyed on other victims in other states after relocating.
“So let’s clearly define that there will be no commutation of Life sentences for certain crimes, no exemptions,” he said.
“That way there should be no more controversies such as this one of [M]ayor Sanchez happening again,” he added, referring to convicted rapist-murderer and former Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez.
The Bureau of Corrections and Department of Justice earlier said thousands of inmates, including Sanchez, may benefit from R.A. 10592.
READ: Early Sanchez release sparks fear, anguish
However, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said he had ordered the suspension of the processing of the early release for good conduct of over 10,000 of inmates.
READ: DOJ suspends early release of convicts
Senator Panfilo Lacson, in a separate message to reporters, said a thorough review of the computation and application of the GCTA “is indeed a welcome[d] move.”
“Needless to say, the DOJ deserves our appreciation for its resolute action. Sanchez is just a representation of everything that is bad and wrong with our penitentiary system,” Lacson said.
“His luxurious, high living standard while serving time easily reminds us of the ‘kubol’ bungalows of the drug lord convicts which authorities said they already dismantled. It appears that nothing has changed. The different money-making rackets remain and probably have gone worse,” he added.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III earlier filed a resolution that would prompt the appropriate Senate committees to review R.A. 10592.
READ: Sotto seeks review of law that sparked fear of Sanchez’s release
Sotto, like Zubiri, also seeks to exclude those charged with heinous crimes from benefiting from the said law. /je
READ: Sotto: SC can stop Sanchez’s impending release
