Solon urges prosecutors to get court order before chasing GCTA beneficiaries

State prosecutors should secure warrants from the court before arresting convicts freed due to the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) law, one of its authors said Thursday.

President Rodrigo Duterte last week gave 15 days for around 2,000 heinous crime convicts freed by the GCTA to surrender to authorities, following questions about its legality and reports that good conduct credits are being sold.

"The prosecution has to file a motion for the arrest of a person wrongfully released because of erroneous interpretation of the GCTA and erroneous computation," Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez told DZMM.

"Hindi puwede na arestuhin ang isang tao na wala namang warrant of arrest... Hindi [rin] puwedeng arestuhin ang isang tao kung hindi s'ya actually committing a crime or an escapee. Hindi naman escapee iyong mga napalaya. They went through the front door with a release order," he added.
 
(Anyone can't be arrested without a warrant. One can't also be arrested unless he is actually committing a crime or an escapee. Those freed are not escapees.)

The GCTA law disqualifies heinous crime convicts, escapees, recidivists and habitual delinquents, Rodriguez earlier said.

The law's implementing rules and regulations, however, do not state these exemptions, Ombudsman Samuel Martires said.

• PH lawmaker blames Good Conduct Law's IRR for controversy on early release of convicts
• Ombudsman wants De Lima, Roxas to clarify GCTA rules for convicts

On Thursday, justice and interior department officials will submit a draft of revised IRR for the law, while the Senate will resume its inquiry into the issue.

Bookmark this page for a livestream of the Senate probe: https://news.abs-cbn.com/live.

DZMM, September 12, 2019