NCRPO: No link between GCTA releases, BuCor exec’s slay

MANILA, Philippines — The murder of a Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) official and the questionable release of convicts under the retroactive application of the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law are not connected, the National Capital Region Police Office declared yesterday.

“Wala naman,” NCRPO chief Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said when asked about a possible link between the ambush on Ruperto Traya in Muntinlupa City on Aug. 27 and the botched release of former Calauan, Laguna mayor Antonio Sanchez, a convicted murderer and rapist.

Public outcry prompted President Duterte to order Sanchez’s continued detention. Sanchez’s family claims he was supposed to be released due to good conduct on Aug. 20.

Traya’s wife earlier said her husband worked in the Inmate’s Document Processing Division – the BuCor office that collates and processes papers on the inmates’ good conduct time allowance.

Eleazar instead said illegal drugs may be among the motives for the attack on Traya.

“There is still no confirmed motive. It is possible that it is drugs, but it is still up for validation,” Eleazar said in a text message to The STAR.

He did not say whether the illegal drugs are linked to the New Bilibid Prison or the Abuyog Penal Colony, where Traya worked until 2016.

A source told The STAR that Traya reportedly “had trouble” in the Leyte prison and asked to be transferred three years ago.

Muntinlupa chief investigator Maj. Allan Cabral said the investigation team is currently doing a background check on Traya to determine if he received death threats.

Traya’s wife told police she did not know who would have a grudge against her husband.