Rearrest of GCTA-freed ex-cons suspended but monitoring continues —Eleazar

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has suspended for the meantime its operations to rearrest convicts who were freed through the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law but failed to turn themselves in within a given deadline as ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte.

This was after the Department of Justice (DOJ) requested Friday morning that the rearrest operations be put on hold as they had yet to "clean up" the official list of released convicts earlier provided by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

Having been informed of this request, NCRPO director Police Major General Guillermo Eleazar, in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV, said he has ordered the NCRPO's tracker teams to suspend their operations involving some 170 GCTA-released convicts who were listed to be in Metro Manila, but clarified they were still tasked to stand by for monitoring.

"Ako po ay tumawag na rin sa ating Director for Operations ng Philippine National Police (PNP) at, whille waiting for the official guidance, ay suspended po muna ang atin pong mga tracker teams na sa ngayoy nasa labas," he said.

"Pero nasa labas pa rin po sila sa labas at naka-continue to monitor kasi sa ngayon po meron pa kaming 170 na nasa listahan na ang address ay Metro Manila," he added.

Since the deadline expired Thursday at midnight, the NCRPO chief said police in Metro Manila have so far arrested  four rape convicts released through GCTA but defied Duterte's order for them to surrender within 15 days.

"Isa sa Makati, isa sa Muntinlupa, dalawa sa Manila," Guillermo said. "A total of four arrested ito pong mga na-release na PDL (persons deprived of liberty) na pare-parehong kasong mga rape cases."  

The four rearrested convicts are expected to remain in police custody until further guidelines are issued.

"Hawak natin sila ngayon but we will just wait for further guidelines," Eleazar said. —Margaret Claire Layug/KBK, GMA News