Ombudsman probe shows 24,000 convicts freed since 2014

MANILA, Philippines— An investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman revealed that at least 24,000 convicts had already been freed since 2014.

Ombudsman Samuel Martires said the figure was based on documents submitted by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), which they validated from the records of the Senate.

The Senate committee on justice is conducting a parallel inquiry into the release of heinous crime convicts through the good conduct time allowance.

“Magulo ang records ng Bucor dahil pinag-mix nila yung term na completed service of sentence at saka expired service of sentence. Medyo pingahalo-halo nila lahat yun,” Martires said during the hearing of the Senate finance subcommittee.

“Pero nakakapagtaka, umabot sa 24,000 ang napalabas ng mga opisyal mula 2014 hanggang sa kasalukuyan,” he said.

Martires, for instance, noted an an inmate supposedly charged with murder but out on bail.

He promised to come up with concrete results of their probe in next two to three weeks.

“I assure you that in two to three weeks time, we’ll be able to come up with some concrete results of the investigation that we’re conducting,” the Ombudsman said.

“Lahat po ay pasasagutin namin sa as we go along the way. Lahat ho ng mga naging BuCor directors papasagutin namin kung ano participation nila,” he added.

As of Tuesday, Martires said former Senator Leila de Lima submitted her answer to his office’s request to explain why heinous crime convicts were deleted from the list of inmates disqualified from GCTA law.

De Lima was then Justice Secretary when the implementing rules and regulations of the GCTA law was crafted./ac

READ: De Lima tells Ombudsman: Ask DOJ about GCTA’s IRR