76 convicts freed under GCTA now under BuCor custody – DOJ

MANILA, Philippines – A total of 76 people deprived of liberty (PDL) who surrendered after being freed under the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) are now in the custody of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) as of 12 a.m., Sunday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.

DOJ spokesperson Undersecretary Markk Perete said that their office continues to receive reports of more convicts surrendering from Philippine National Police (PNP) regional offices.

BuCor is an agency under the DOJ.

Furthermore, Perete said that preliminary report from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) shows that none of the PDLs released under the GCTA have left the country.

“The DOJ Interim Oversight Committee will meet today with BuCor officials to discuss coordinating mechanisms, and conduct inspections, among others,” Perete said.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier asked the 1,900 heinous crime convicts released under the controversial GCTA law to surrender to the nearest police station or military camp, saying that once the 15-day deadline given to them lapses, they will be considered as fugitives.

“If you do not, then beginning at this hour, you are a fugitive from justice. And you will be treated as a criminal who is evading the law and well you know things can go wrong,” the President said in a press briefing in Malacañang.

Duterte also added that he is considering a P1 million bounty on the head of each released convict to anyone who could get them dead or alive. /je