Sotto wants revamp of BuCor leadership; Lacson urges Duterte to take action vs. ‘recycled’ Faeldon

At least two senators emphasized the need for a change in the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) following the reported release of drug lords and other inmates convicted of heinous crimes due to good conduct time allowances (GCTA).

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said President Rodrigo Duterte must "revamp" the "entire officialdom" of the agency.

PRRD must revamp the entire officialdom of the BuCor. This travesty of Justice is condemnable!

— Tito Sotto (@sotto_tito) August 30, 2019

"PRRD must revamp the entire officialdom of the BuCor. This travesty of Justice is condemnable," he said in a tweet.

The senate president, however, clarified later during an interview on dzMM that he was merely making a suggestion.

"Ine-express ko lang ang aking paniniwala. Ang aking opinyon. It's up to whoever listen or to read mga comments ko kung sa tingin nila kung ako'y nasa lugar, kung tama o hindi," Sotto said.

When asked if BuCor Director General Nicanor Faeldon should be among the officials that have to be removed, Sotto said: "S'yempre... Lahat ng opisyal doon. 'Di pwedeng may kumilos d'yan na di nila alam lahat."

"Oo dapat. Ano 'yan, na-hack ang mga ballpen nila?"

Calls to review GCTA guidelines or even amend the law were made amid the public outcry over news of the possible early release of Antonio Sanchez.

The former Calauan, Laguna mayor's release order was reportedly signed by Faeldon, who earlier denied it.

'Recycled' official

Data from the BuCor showed that of the 22,049 persons deprived of liberty (PDL) released from 2014 to 2019 due to GCTA, 1,914 had been convicted of heinous crimes such as murder and rape. 

In a separate statement, Senator Panfilo stressed that the officials responsible for the release of prisoners convicted of heinous crimes should be held accountable.

"It is the biggest irony that while the government has spent so much time, energy and resources to build up intelligence, gather evidence leading to the arrest of big-time drug traffickers especially Chinese drug lords, then spend more to prosecute and convict those arrested and charged, here is Faeldon and whoever else was responsible, by the stroke of their pens, would release at least 48 drug convicts out of the 1,914 heinous crime convicts under questionable circumstances," the senator said.

Specifically, Lacson urged President Duterte to consider taking "drastic action" against the "recycled" BuCor chief.

"If the President does not take drastic action on this latest caper of an official who was recycled in spite of questionable actions committed in his previous assignment like the P6.4-billion shabu smuggling that got away under mysterious circumstances, on top of the organized 'tara' on smuggled goods, we should start thinking if there is seriousness in this administration’s much touted war against drugs and corruption midway into his six-year term," Lacson said.

It was under Faledon's watch when billions of pesos worth of shabu were smuggled into the country. He was later transferred to the BuCor from the BOC, following the shabu shipment mess.

Bastardization

Meanwhile, Senator Leila de Lima said that Sanchez being considered for release was already a "bastardization of the spirit of restorative justice."

In her own statement, the detained lawmaker emphasized that Republic Act No. 10592 is "meant to accomplish several lofty purposes with respect to our criminal justice system."

"One does not throw away kitchen knives just because malevolent elements can use it for evil purposes. These knives are used to cook food for one’s family and they do not lose their value regardless of their potential for abuse," De Lima said.

However, the senator pointed out that Sanchez, to this day, still refuses to recognize his crimes and pay reparations to his victims.

"He was found to have possessed illegal drugs in Bilibid and was implicated with drug trading during his imprisonment. A surprise raid in his prison cell revealed that he lived a life of illicit luxury with a flat screen TV and air conditioning," she said.

"To simply discount the times he was caught committing these crimes and infractions during his incarceration in considering his eligibility for GCTA is a travesty of justice that spits on the noble intentions of the law," she added.

"These criminal infractions should outrightly disqualify him for any time allowance and require him to serve his full sentence," De Lima said. — MDM, GMA News