Palace: Freed heinous crime convicts under GCTA rule must return to jail

BEIJING — Inmates convicted for heinous crimes but were granted early freedom under Republic Act 10592 or the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) must be sent back to jail, Malacañang said Friday.

According to presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo, who is also President Rodrigo Duterte’s chief legal counsel, RA 10592 does not apply to them.

“They can be rearrested and sent back (to the state penitentiary),” Panelo said in a press briefing here.

“That cannot be done because the law is very clear. Republic Act 10592 is very clear that those charged and convicted of heinous crimes, escapees, habitual delinquents, and recidivists are not covered by the law,”

“Obviously, dapat makabalik sila,” he further said.

The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) revealed Thursday that almost 2,000 prisoners convicted of heinous crimes have already been released because of GCTA since 2013 when RA 10592 was signed into law.

READ: BuCor: 1,914 heinous crimes prisoners given early freedom due to GCTA

When told that the law stated that the order for those granted release could not be revoked, he said: “When you say it cannot be revoked, it assumes that grantee (is) qualified. If they are not qualified, how can you apply that provision?”

He said those who were released should return to jail until they have served their full jail term.

“[Balik sila] sa kulungan until they served the full term of their service,” he said.

“If they were qualified, they should follow the law,” Panelo said of the inmates earlier released under the GCTA policy. /kga