Embroiled anew

Nicanor Faeldon, the current Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) director-general seems to be embroiled in controversy wherever he is assigned. When he was commissioner of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), P6.4 billion worth of shabu from China entered the country and was cleared by the bureau.

Fortunately, the massive amount of illegal drugs were discovered and seized at a warehouse prior to distribution. Faeldon was belligerent and arrogant during the Senate hearings on massive corruption in the BOC and was cited in contempt and jailed for several months.

He resigned from the BOC but was immediately picked up by President Duterte and assigned to the Office of Civil Defense. When Roland dela Rosa resigned as BuCor chief to run for senator, Duterte again picked Faeldon to replace him.

Now Faeldon is at the center of the raging controversy involving the approved release of former Calauan, Laguna, mayor Antonio Sanchez under the Good Conduct Time Allowance Law (GCTA). Faeldon has once again been subpoenaed after informing the Senate he will not be able to attend and delegated someone else to attend the hearing on the misinterpretation of the GCTA. Sanchez shouldn’t have qualified for GCTA because of his heinous crime against Eileen Sarmenta aside from the various offenses made during imprisonment. Why he was deemed eligible for GCTA is highly questionable aside from moronic.

But Sanchez has a release order dated August 20 apparently signed by Faeldon. The same is claimed by the family of Sanchez who already planned to pick up the convicted rapist-killer, even having a welcome celebration planned and ready.

Because of public outrage at the prospect of a free Sanchez, the government obviously backtracked and tried to look good by saying Sanchez was not eligible to be freed under GCTA, despite earlier pronouncements to the contrary. Senator Dela Rosa even said the guy deserved a second chance. We all know what a student said that totally set him off.

To date, we have yet to hear from the president's favorite regarding the whole matter. Sanchez may have been prevented from walking out the New Bilibid Prisons, but 1,914 inmates guilty of various heinous crimes have been released since 2014, all under GCTA including several Chinese drug convicts who have apparently been deported.

The Chinese are truly very fortunate under this administration, even criminals who shouldn’t be eligible for release. So not only does Faeldon have to be investigated by the Senate but Sen. Dela Rosa as well being a former BuCor chief, and all other BuCor chiefs since 2014.

The Palace stated that those ineligible for release under GCTA must be returned to prison and serve out the remainder of their sentences, a move some say is illegal because they have been officially released. As if the prisoners would willingly go back. This whole controversy cannot be swept under the rug just because a favorite of the Palace is once again involved. I don't have to be a lawyer to understand the provision in the GCTA regarding the ineligibility of those convicted of heinous crimes. Heads must roll, no matter who they are. Those supposedly released under GCTA include Chinese drug convicts, the rapist-killers of the Chiong sisters, as well as drug lords who testified against Sen. De Lima. Smell anything funny?