4th Chiong convict also freed, but set to yield

MANILA, Philippines — An official of the Department of Justice confirmed yesterday that the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) released last Aug. 16 a fourth convict in the rape-slay of sisters Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong in Cebu City, but the freed man is expected to surrender this week. 

Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete confirmed that James Anthony Uy was released from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa by virtue of the expanded Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law or Republic Act 10592. 

Perete said Uy is expected to surrender any time this week along with Josman Aznar, also convicted for the rape and killing of the Chiong sisters and released through GCTA.

“Just confirmed that he (Uy) was also released, but that he will also surrender with Aznar,” said Perete. 

Two other convicts in the Chiong case,

Ariel Balansag and Albert Caño, have already surrendered to authorities after briefly gaining freedom through good conduct. 

President Duterte gave all the 1,914 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) or those convicted of heinous crimes, who were released because of GCTA since the law’s enactment in 2013, to surrender within 15 days. 

The Chiong sisters were raped and killed on July 16, 1997 in Cebu.

In May 1999, a regional trial court in Cebu convicted and sentenced to life in prison the seven accused in the rape and killing of the Chiong sisters: Balansag, Caño, Aznar, Uy, Francisco Juan Larrañaga, James Andrew Uy, and Rowen Adlawan. They were found guilty of the complex crime of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with homicide and rape; and simple kidnapping and serious illegal detention.

The Uy brothers were reportedly minors during the commission of the crime.

When the case was elevated to the Supreme Court (SC), the magistrates raised their punishment to lethal injection. But when the death penalty was abolished, they were sentenced to reclusion perpetua or 40 years in prison.

Larrañaga, a great grandson of former president Sergio Osmeña Sr., being a Spanish citizen has been serving his sentence in Spain. 

130 surrenderees

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said yesterday that 130 heinous crime convicts granted freedom under the GCTA law have surrendered so far.

PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said those who surrendered included 49 rape convicts, 41 convicted of murder and 13 for robbery with homicide.

Banac appealed to the other convicts who remain at large to surrender and not wait for the last day of the President’s grace period on Sept. 18.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año earlier said they have received a report that several of those convicts are already abroad.

However, the PNP is not discounting the possibility there are convicts who have left the country as the release orders date back to 2014.

Police authorities will coordinate with the International Police (Interpol) if some of the freed inmates have slipped out of the country.

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) would deploy tracker teams to go after convicts released through GCTA when the 15-day period for them to surrender lapses next week.

NCRPO chief Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said he and his five district directors are sorting out the list of 2,000 released prisoners to trace their residences in Metro Manila to make the job of tracker teams easy after the deadline lapses.

“What we have is the initial list so far, and this is what we are currently working on to facilitate the compliance on President Duterte’s order to have them all accounted for,” said Eleazar.

Police said the convicts who recently yielded to authorities in Metro Manila included Joseph Collo, a rape convict released from the NBP in Muntinlupa City through GCTA on June 6, 2018, who surrendered yesterday to the Pasig City police.

Collo, 51, of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur surrendered to Pasig police chief Col. Moises Villaceran at about 10 a.m. yesterday. 

Collo, who currently resides in Barangay Malinao, Pasig, was convicted of rape in October 2012 and sentenced to 10 years in jail.

He is now undergoing documentation and will be transferred to BuCor officials.

Five other convicts released through GCTA have yielded to police in Caloocan and Valenzuela  City over the weekend.

Ernesto Roque, 54; Elimar Belda, 54; and Gomer Mendoza, 54, surrendered to the Caloocan police while Joel Maliwat, 50; and Rolando dela Cruz, 62, yielded to the Valenzuela police

Six other convicts who were released due to the GCTA law have surrendered to authorities in Central Luzon last week.

Col. Rhoderick Armamento, Region 3 police deputy director for operations, identified them as Victorio Pletado, 53, of General Tinio, Nueva Ecija; Cirilo Payumo and Edwin Alejo, both of Plaridel, Bulacan; Angel Mosquite, 59, of Inhobol, Masinloc, Zambales; Nathaniel John Chavez, 30, of Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan and Joel dela Cruz of Camiling, Tarlac. – With Emmanuel Tupas, Non Alquitran, Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Ric Sapnu, Jennifer Rendon