JUSTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Thursday, September 5, said many of the heinous crime convicts who were released have sent surrender feelers following President Rodrigo Duterte's order to recall them within 15 days.
"We have received information that many have sent feelers for their voluntary re-commitment to prison. Probably, they're just waiting for the mechanics on how to go about this," Guevarra told the Senate during the resumption of the hearing into the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) system.
"We hope many more will follow so that we don't have to do any coercive action," he added, in reply to the questions of Senator Christopher Lawrence Go.
As of Thursday noon, Guevarra said they were not aware of any violent incident related to the recall order.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) chief said freed persons deprived of liberty (PDL) based on GCTA may simply go to the nearest police station or military unit and turn themselves in.
The police or military will then forward the information to the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) which will take the steps to recall the PDL.
Covered by the President's recall order are the 1,914 PDLs who were convicted of heinous crimes but were released based on GCTA.
They include three of the seven men convicted of the kidnapping and serious illegal detention of sisters Jacqueline and Marijoy Chiong in 1997.
Josman Aznar, Ariel Balansag, and Alberto Caño were freed from the national penitentiary based on a release order signed on August 16, 2019.
Go, for his part, urged his colleagues in the Senate especially former police and BuCor chief Ronald dela Rosa to "help in the recall" or the "shoot-to-kill" of the heinous crime convicts.
The President, in a media interview Wednesday night, said he was considering a P1-million bounty, "dead or alive", on each of the released PDL who will not surrender within 15 days.
Duterte has fired Nicanor Faeldon as director general of BuCor for having "disobeyed" his order.
The GCTA system, which is provided for under Republic Act 10592, shortens the prison term of a PDL with good behavior.
The law does not cover "recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapees, and persons charged with heinous crimes".
However, its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) allowed the grant of GCTA even to those convicted of heinous crimes.
The IRR is being reviewed by a joint committee formed by the Justice and Local Government departments in the wake of the public outrage over the release order for former Calauan mayor Antonio Sanchez.
Sanchez, who is still in jail as his release order was recalled, was convicted for the 1995 rape and murder of college student Eileen Sarmenta and the killing of her friend Allan Gomez.
The Senate hearing is being conducted jointly by the committees on justice and human rights, constitutional amendments and revision of codes, public order and dangerous drugs, finance, and Blue Ribbon. (MVI/SunStar Philippines)