Early release based on good conduct offered first to high-profile inmates —BuCor official

The early release of inmates through the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law was offered first to high profile inmates of New Bilibid Prison, Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Senior Inspector Mabel Bansil told a Senate hearing on Thursday.

Bansil, who was one of the 30 BuCor officials ordered suspended for six months without pay by the Office of the Ombudsman due to the release of heinous crime convicts under the GCTA law, made the testimony during the questioning of Senator Richard Gordon.

“‘Yung GCTA, sa mga tao po na high-profile muna in-offer bago sa iba,” Bansil said.

During the same probe, Gordon also trained his guns on Justice Undersecretary Deo Marco, who tried to explain how GCTA would help in decongesting the country’s prisons.

“Hindi ‘yan ang point. Kung may decongestion, we should build more prisons, correct? Ang hirap-hirap hulihin ng mga drug [lords] na 'yan. Ang dapat natin i-solve kung sufficient na ba ang indeterminate sentence law,” Gordon said.

Marco responded by saying, “I agree, your honor.”

The Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights is probing the existence of the scheme of providing early release for inmates in exchange for a hefty sum.

The probe was prompted by the public uproar in connection with the reported release of convicted rapist and killer Antonio Sanchez, the former Mayor of Calauan, Laguna, on account of good conduct.

Sanchez was convicted over the rape and death of Eileen Sarmenta and the killing of Allan Gomez in 1993. Sarmenta and Gomez were students of the University of the Philippines Los Baños. —KBK, GMA News