MANILA, Philippines – Senator Richard Gordon denied shifting the blame of the controversial release of heinous crime convicts under the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law to detained Senator Leila de Lima.
De Lima earlier said that Thursday’s Senate hearing on the issue appeared to have “steered away” the discussion from alleged violations she said was committed by former Bureau of Corrections (Bucor) chiefs Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Nicanor Faeldon in releasing heinous crime convicts.
“No, no…malinaw yung sinabi ko ‘di ba? It is just pure speculation, pure analysis of the events of time,” Gordon told reporters in an interview at the Senate when asked if De Lima was being used a scapegoat.
“I have no proof na kumuha siya ng pera,” Gordon, who led the hearing, further said.
But despite this, Gordon said De Lima should explain why heinous crime convicts were not excluded from benefiting from the GCTA law.
The Office of the Ombudsman has already asked De Lima and Roxas to clarify the law’s IRR.
“Pag pinagaralan niyo yung timing, hindi maganda para sa kanya (De Lima) because, binago nung successor niya kagad eh. Naglagay ng (Department Order) 953 dahil natakot nga na dumami ang lumalabas, sigurado may kumikita,” Gordon went on.
The successor Gordon was referring to was former Justice Secretary Alfredo Caguioa who issued Department Order 953 in 2015.
The said order provides that prior approval of the justice secretary is needed before any inmate sentenced to life imprisonment is released.
READ: Faeldon admits not seeking DOJ nod on prisoners’ release
“At pagkatapos, siya (De Lima) ang gumawa ng rules and regulations, so yun ang nakakaduda,” he said.
READ: De Lima slams Senate colleagues over ‘false, malicious’ charges in GCTA probe
De Lima claimed that Gordon “insinuated” that the law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR) “were written to achieve corrupt ends.”
As justice secretary at the time the law was enacted, De Lima was involved in the crafting of law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR) along with then-Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.
During Thursday’s hearing, former BuCor officer-and-charge Rafael Ragos and National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) Jovencio Ablen Jr. reiterated their testimonies, first told in court, that they delivered money from drug inmates to De Lima through his former driver Ronnie Dayan.
READ: Gordon drags De Lima into GCTA mess; colleagues say it’s meant to take heat off Faeldon
The Senate investigation into the alleged irregularities within BuCor was prompted following public outrage over the near release of rape and murder convict former Calauan, Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez.
Sanchez and his henchmen were sentenced to seven life sentences for the murder of two University of the Philippines-Los Baños students in 1993.
Several alleged money-making rackets within the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) were uncovered during the hearings, including the alleged “GCTA for sale” scheme. / gsg