Dela Rosa could be liable for release of 120 heinous crime convicts – Lacson

Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Panfilo Lacson said Wednesday that former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief and now Senator Ronald Dela Rosa should explain the release of 120 heinous crimes convicts from the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) due to the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) rule.

Lacson noted that Dela Rosa should be made accountable for it especially if proven that the proper procedure was not followed when the heinous crime convicts were freed during his time.

“Kung merong violation sa point of view nung hindi nasunod ‘yung department order, na kailangan may prior approval ng Secretary of Justice, hindi maitatatwa na may dapat ding panagutan or ipaliwanag si Senator Bato,” Lacson said in an interview with DZMM.

(If there is a violation of the law in the sense that the department order that the release should be approved by the Secretary of Justice first was not followed, we cannot deny that Senator Bato should also be held accountable or have something to explain.)

Dela Rosa, who is also a former chief of the Philippine National Police, has admitted signing release orders of around 120 convicts of heinous crime when he was BuCor boss from April to October 2018.

READ: Dela Rosa: Only 1 drug convict freed under GCTA during my term at NBP

The Department of Justice (DOJ) Order No. 953 issued in November 2015 states that the release of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, as in the case of convicted rapist-murderer Antonio Sachez, may only be implemented with prior approval from the justice secretary.

A total of 1,914 convicts for heinous crimes were among the 22,049 prisoners released earlier than their prison sentence due to GCTA since Republic Act No. 10592 was signed into law in 2013, according to BuCor. /kga