PNP doesn’t expect surrender of all heinous crime convicts freed under GCTA

MANILA, Philippines — Gen. Oscar Albayalde, chief of Philippine National Police (PNP), admitted on Tuesday that he did not expect the surrender of all convicts released due to the good conduct time allowance (GCTA).

“We do not expect these 1,914 [released] convicts that are subject for recall [to return]. Not all of them will surrender,” Albayalde said in a press briefing in Camp Crame.

Last week, President Rodrigo Duterte gave an ultimatum to all heinous crime convicts prematurely released through GCTA to surrender or they would be treated as fugitives.

“I will give you 15 days liberty provided you make yourself available anytime that you will be called for an investigation to have a recomputation or if there’s an investigation of corruption that you cooperate fully,” the President said.

Asked if the PNP would prepared to arrest the inmates after the 15-day deadline, Albayalde confessed it would not be that easy since they do not have the photos and other details of the freed convicts.

“Sa ngayon, meron tayong initial ‘yung teams natin just in case nga na meron [i-arrest]. Ang problem kasi ‘yung list, it doesn’t say kung saan ito nakatira before or previous residence kung saan siya pwede mahanap,” Albayalde said.

“Even the pictures previously, after 15 to 20 years sigurado iba na itsura nung tao na ito… Wala kaming copy ng mga pictures. All we have is the list [of names],” the PNP chief also said.

Albayalde further said they would just have to review past criminal cases of the convicts to track their past residential addresses.

The PNP chief then appealed to those included in the official list to surrender to authorities, assuring them that a thorough review of their GCTA application would be made and that they would be set free if the review would find their application aboveboard.

“Itong mga kaso nila will undergo review kung talagang qualified sila sa GCTA. So, it is better for them to surrender talaga rather than intayin at hanapin sila ng law enforcement agency,” Albayalde said.

Recent data from PNP showed that 203 of the 1,914 heinous crime convicts freed under the GCTA law have already surrendered to police nationwide. These inmates were convicted for various heinous crimes like murder, parricide, rape, rape with homicide, robbery with homicide, robbery with rape, illegal drugs, carnapping, and arson, among others.

Cagayan Valley had the highest number of GCTA surrenderers with 35, followed by Calabarzon with 32 convicts.

Of the number, 35 convicts were already transferred to the Bureau of Corrections.

Albayalde said that aside from PNP, other law enforcement agencies like the National Bureau of Investigation and Armed Forces of the Philippines may help in the recovery of freed convicts and security of surrenderers. /kga

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