No court order, not arrest of freed GCTA convicts – Albayalde

MANILA, Philippines – Minus a court order, the Philippine Nation Police (PNP)  cannot re-arrest convicts freed based on the controversial good conduct time allowance (GCTA) law.

PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde   made this categorical statement  in an interview  on  ABS-CBN News Channel on Wednesday.

“First of all, technically we can’t re-arrest them because theres’s no court order coming from a competent court,”  Albayalde said.

“And I believe the granting of GCTA  is irrevocable, but of course if the higher authorities will give us the order to re-arrest them, then we will,” he added.

“Number one, the release is binding because it was signed by the director of the BuCor  (Bureau of Corrections),”   Albayalde said, referring to BuCor chief  Nicanor Faeldon.

Albayalde said that what the PNP can do, in the meantime, is to monitor the freed convicts.

“What we can do here is probably monitor them. If they do something against the law then we can arrest them for that offense, not for the previous offense. That’s the least we can do,” Albayalde pointed out.

Faeldon earlier confirmed that three of the seven men convicted for the rape and murder of sisters Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong in Cebu have already been  released./gsg

READ: Faeldon confirms release of 3 convicts in Chiong sisters rape-slay case