No sanction as Faeldon skips Senate probe into GCTA law

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate Comittee on Justice and Human Rights would not issue a sanction against sacked Bureau of Corrections chief Nicanor Faeldon for his absence in the third hearing into the Good Conduct Time Allowance law.

"Nakikiusap ang abogado ni Faeldon na kung maari hindi na siya dadalo, bagamat he is under subpoena. Nakikiusap na kung maari 'wag na siya humarap dito,” Sen. Richard Gordon, who leads the hearing said.

(The lawyer of Faeldon requested that he won’t attend the hearing even if he is under subpoena. He begged off from attending the Senate hearing.)

“The present attitude of the Senate is to be magnanimous,” he added.

The hearing was set a day after President Rodrigo Duterte fired him for allowing the release of inmates with high-profile cases.

Faeldon was earlier summoned by Gordon to attend the hearing since he was involved in implementing the GCTA law, a penal act which reduces term of inmates for the good conduct they displayed while incarcerated.

The sacked BuCor chief was also asked to shed light on the impending release of convicted rapist and murderer Antonio Sanchez.

Documents showed that the release order for Sanchez was previously signed by Faeldon. He, however, denied it during the hearings, saying he only signed a memorandum for release.

Faeldon clarified that only the superintendent can issue the release order.

Sanchez, also a former mayor of Calauan, Laguna, was sentenced seven life terms of up to 40 years of imprisonment for the rape and murder of University of the Philippines Los Baños student Eileen Sarmenta and her boyfriend Allan Gomez in 1993.

He was announced to be among the 11,000 convicts who would be released under the GCTA law.