Manhunt for freed convicts continues

MANILA, Philippines — The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) yesterday called on convicts prematurely released through the good conduct time allowance law to surrender as the government ordered the resumption of manhunt operations.

NCRPO chief Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said 26 tracker teams are monitoring the last known addresses of former convicts residing in Metro Manila and advised them to surrender peacefully back to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

“So we advise them not to do something that would jeopardize their safety once our personnel are able to track their locations. But still, the best option is for them to surrender,” Eleazar said.
“We want to get them alive but if there is aggressive behavior on their part and they resist, we have to defend ourselves,” he warned.

Eleazar said the manhunt would proceed following the presidential order since the former inmates under the BuCor list were considered fugitives from justice after the 15-day deadline lapsed last Thursday.

“The series of arrests we conducted is proof that we are serious in running after them. We will not stop until they are all accounted for because that is the order coming from the President,” Eleazar said.

The NCRPO has a total of 202 convicts listed with known addresses in 26 areas of Metro Manila.
As of yesterday, a total of 82 convicts were accounted for in Greater Manila with 38 of them listed in the NCRPO’s list. Three of the convicts died of natural causes.

Eleazar said they are tracking down 164 more ex-convicts in the list provided by the BuCor in Metro Manila.

Eleazar said each of the 26 police stations, which have the listed convicts in their jurisdictions, would form a team to track them down.

“The police precincts, police stations and our offices here at NCRPO are open 24 hours, and we shall be ready to arrange for (ex-convicts’) turnover to the proper authorities,” he said.
“To those protecting them, they will be charged with  a case of harboring criminals. If the convicts were arrested in their premises, they would be held liable,” Eleazar warned.

Hours after President Duterte’s deadline lapsed on Thursday, NCRPO operatives arrested four former inmates just before the Department of Justice (DOJ) asked for the suspension of manhunt operations the following day.

The DOJ asked for a suspension of the manhunt but Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said only the President could give the order to stand down.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said there were errors in the list provided by BuCor naming the prisoners granted freedom under the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.

Guevarra wanted to verify the list first, taking into account the number of former inmates who surrendered.

Officials said most of those who surrendered were not in the list since they were convicted of lesser offenses, pardoned or under parole.

The DOJ said 2,139 former inmates surrendered on Thursday, with 1,903 proceeding to the BuCor while 236 surrendered to the police.

The BuCor said a total of 1,914 inmates were granted freedom under the GCTA law since 2014.

In the list, however, are hundreds of convicted rapists, murderers and drug criminals, which officials said is a clear violation of the GCTA that excludes those who are convicted of heinous crimes.

Authorities are scrambling to track down the former inmates who were released early due to what was perceived to be a wrong application of the GCTA law and possible corruption of BuCor officials.

The premature releases had gone largely unnoticed until news broke last month that Antonio Sanchez, the former Calauan, Laguna mayor convicted to serve seven life terms for the rape-slay of Eileen Sarmenta and murder of Allan Gomez in 1993, was about to get out early for good behavior.

The report prompted a massive investigation by several government agencies and the Senate, which uncovered multiple anomalies and rackets involving several officials of the BuCor in the course of the congressional probe.

Earlier this month Duterte fired Nicanor Faeldon, the BuCor chief, over the early releases, saying: “The records would show that there has been a wrong computation and maybe corruption.”

Last week, Duterte appointed Gerald Bantag who formally assumed office on Friday as the new BuCor chief.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) has started delivering medicines and life-saving equipment to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) for sick and aging inmates suffering from lack of medical attention in the highly congested state penitentiary.

Sen. Christopher Go said the deliveries, which included some kidney dialysis machines, were made upon his intervention after he made a surprise visit at the NBP two weeks ago to check on the conditions of inmates there, and validate some complaints of corruption by some BuCor personnel. – With Paolo Romero, Evelyn Macairan