Ombudsman suspends three more prison officials over GCTA mess

The Office of the Ombudsman slapped a six-month suspension without pay penalty on three more prison officials due to the release of heinous crimes convicts under the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.

Ombudsman Samuel Martires issued the suspension on September 10, just a day after he meted the same penalty on 27 New Bilibid Prison (NBP) and other penal colony officials over GCTA releases.

The three other officials ordered suspended were:

• Maria Fe Marquez, Superintendent, Correctional Institution for Women;
• Frederick Santos, Chief Legal Division, Bureau of Corrections (BuCor); and
• Joel Nalva, Correctional Officer, Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

The Correctional Institution for Women, like the NBP, was under the supervision of the BuCor.

Martires ordered the suspension without pay of the prison officials just four days after announcing that his office would be investigating them in connection with the GCTA implementation.

The GCTA law and its Implementing Rules and Regulations do not exclude convicts of heinous crime from benefiting under GCTA law.

Section 1 of the GCTA law, however, amended Article 29 of the Revised Penal Code by providing that “computation of preventive imprisonment for purposes of immediate release should start on the actual period of detention with good conduct time allowance, provided, that if the accused is absent without justifiable cause at any stage of the trial, the court may motu proprio order the rearrest of the accused; provided, finally, that recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapees and persons charged with heinous crimes are excluded from the coverage of this law.”

But Section 3 of the GCTA law could also be interpreted as something that extends to convicts of heinous crimes since it reads “the good conduct of any offender qualified for credit for preventive imprisonment pursuant to Article 29 of this Code, or of any convicted prisoner in any penal institution, rehabilitation or detention center or any other local jail should entitle him or her the following deductions:

• During the first two years of imprisonment, he shall be allowed a deduction of twenty days for each month of good behavior during detention;
• During the third to the fifth year, inclusive, of his imprisonment, he shall be allowed a reduction of twenty-three days for each month of good behavior during detention;
• During the following years until the tenth year, inclusive, of his imprisonment, he shall be allowed a deduction of twenty-five days for each month of good behavior during detention;
• During the eleventh and successive years of his imprisonment, he shall be allowed a deduction of thirty days for each month of good behavior during detention; and
• At any time during the period of imprisonment, he shall be allowed another deduction of fifteen days, in addition to numbers one to four hereof, for each month of study, teaching or mentoring service time rendered.”

The GCTA mess started after it was reported that convicted rapist and killer, former Calauan Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez, is expected to be freed from jail due to the GCTA law.

Sanchez is convicted of seven counts of rape and seven counts of homicide over the rape and killing of Eileen Sarmenta and death of Allan Gomez, both UP Los Baños students, in 1993. — DVM, GMA News