2 convicts freed through GCTA want to surrender to Sotto

Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Wednesday said two convicts who were freed through the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law are set to surrender to him.

Sotto said he received feelers for the surrender but no other details were given to him.

“Merong surenderee, dalawang surenderee, magkaiba, hindi sila magkasama, nagpasabi sa akin nung gustong sumurender,” he said in a radio interview.

He said he also does not know why the two wanted to surrender to him.

“Hindi ko alam kung bakit sa akin pa su-surrender, o bakit sa amin pa sa Senado su-surrender. Puwede naman siyang dumeretso doon. Baka takot o baka merong gusto munang ibunyag, aabangan na rin namin bukas ng umaga,” he said.

The Senate is set to resume its hearing on the GCTA controversy and other alleged irregularities within the Bureau of Corrections on Thursday.

If the surrender will push through, Sotto said the convicts can be presented as resource persons together with the raiding team, headed by former Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief and now Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, that conducted a raid at the New Bilibid Prison.

“Sa aking pagkakaalam, wala [nang ibang bagong haharap sa hearing] except ‘yung sinasabi kong sa amin su-surrender at saka yung raiding team natin sa NBP,” Sotto said.

Some 1,914 convicts of heinous crimes were released on the basis of the GCTA law. President Rodrigo Duterte ordered them to "surrender" or be labeled as fugitives before September 19.

Out of the total number, more than 500 have so far surrendered.

Due to the controversy over the implementation of the GCTA law, its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) were revised to exclude persons convicted of heinous crimes from benefiting from it. —Amita Legaspi/KBK, GMA News