DOJ sets release of 37 more surrenderees under GCTA

MANILA, Philippines — Thirty-seven more persons deprived of liberty (PDL) who had been released under the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law but heeded the call of President Duterte to surrender are set to be freed this week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced yesterday.

Justice Undersecretary and spokesman Markk Perete said the oversight committee approved the release of the convicts based on the recommendation of the joint task force of the DOJ and Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

“This fourth batch of 37 individuals, once released by the BuCor, would bring the total number of released PDL-surrenderees to 124,” Perete told reporters.

 A total of 2,221 inmates have surrendered after President Duterte issued a 15-day ultimatum amid concern that unqualified PDLs, including heinous crime convicts, may have benefited from the GCTA law.

The number exceeded the list of the BuCor, which contained the names of 1,914 PDLs freed under GCTA.

Republic Act 10592 or the GCTA law, which was passed in 2013, amended provisions of the Revised Penal Code, allowing the early release of convicts on good behavior.

Following a review of the inmates’ records, the DOJ came up with the list of freed convicts who need to be re-arrested by the Philippine National Police. 

The DOJ said 19 convicts were included in the partial list forwarded to the Department of the Interior and Local Government as subject of manhunt operations. 

The DOJ said the inmates have a few more months to serve their sentence, but were prematurely released under the GCTA law.