MANILA, Philippines — Dismissal of “corrupt” officials of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) involved in the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) law mess is not enough as they must face criminal complaints House Minority Leader Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. said Saturday.
“Naniniwala po ako na dapat they are ultimately charged in court. Hindi lang po i-dismiss. Ultimately charged in court because negligence of duty is a crime,” Abante said in a forum in Annabel’s, Quezon City.
Previously, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the six-month preventive suspension of 30 BuCor officials tagged in the GCTA mess as the investigation on the issue continues.
READ: Ombudsman suspends 3 more BuCor execs as probe into GCTA mess continues
Nicanor Faeldon, who was the BuCor chief when almost 2,000 heinous crime convicts were released due to the GCTA law, was fired from his post on September 4.
READ: Duterte to Faeldon: You’re fired
After President Rodrigo Duterte fired Faeldon, Abante joked that the former BuCor chief should become chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) as it might help remove traffic.
“Kaya nga ako sabi ko kay General [Danilo] Lim ng MMDA, bakit hindi ikaw ang BuCor tapos si Faeldon ilagay mo sa MMDA?” Abante quipped.
“Sapagka’t nung Customs si Faeldon, nawala yung shabu. ‘Yung siya ay nasa BuCor nawala yung mga prisonero baka mawala yung traffic sa Edsa ‘pag siya naging MMDA [chairman],” Abante added.
Prior to being BuCor director, Faeldon was Bureau of Customs chief when a P6.4 billion shabu shipment slipped past the agency.
Abante added that the House of Representatives is also planning to file a bill to review and amend the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) law. /muf