Freedom for sale?
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2019 17:30:56 +0000
HEADS should roll in this latest brouhaha at the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor). A complete overhaul of the agency should even be considered amid allegations that there were monetary considerations in the early release of prisoners convicted of heinous crimes.
Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III disclosed that it was impossible to erase from the minds of the people their suspicions that money and bribery were involved to free drug lords and convicts of heinous crimes.
The issue stemmed from the fact that the BuCor granted almost 2,000 inmates early release under Republic Act No. 10592 or Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) Law.
If the BuCor would be unsuccessful in addressing the issues surrounding its agency, Sotto said it would have to face the Senate’s budget hearing in October where a confrontation was inevitable. Sotto had already appealed to President Duterte to revamp the BuCor officers.
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The controversy began when the media reported the impending release of convicted rapist-murderer Antonio Sanchez, former mayor of Calauan, Laguna, apparently due to good behavior.
Sanchez was incarcerated for masterminding the murder of University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) graduating students Eileen Sarmenta and Allan Gomez in 1993. Sanchez raped Eileen and handed her over to his men to be sexually abused once more before she was shot in the face.
The issue became hotter when it was reported that convicts in the abduction, rape, and murder of sisters Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong in Cebu in 1997 were released, although BuCor officials refused to confirm this.
There were other heinous crime convicts who were also granted freedom via GCTA. News came out that three or four Chinese drug
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