Murder, drug convict surrenders in Cavite

SAN PEDRO CITY –– A man convicted of murder and illegal drug charges surrendered to authorities in Rosario town in Cavite province, the police chief said Friday.

Armando Figueroa was accompanied by his relatives when he turned himself in to the police station around noon on Thursday.

Rosario police chief Major Dhefry Punzalan, in a phone interview Friday, said they have turned over Figueroa to the Bureau of Corrections (Bucor) in Muntinlupa City.

Figueroa was released from the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City in 2017 under the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA).

At the height of a senate inquiry into the GCTA, President Duterte in September ordered about 1,900 freed convicts to surrender as the government reviewed the provisions of the controversial law.

Punzalan said Figueroa earlier received a letter from the Bucor asking him to return to the national penitentiary, but the letter was mailed to his last known address in Pasay City.

A relative was able to contact Figueroa only recently and convinced him to turn himself in./lzb