As the alter ego of the President, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said he has the authority to review or reject a decision of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) regarding inmates even without an Executive Order (EO) from President Rodrigo Duterte as proposed by a senator.

Guevarra gave the assurance that not one inmate has slipped out of prison as a result of Republic Act 10592 or the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.

BuCor director General Nicanor Faeldon also denied having issued any release papers for Antonio Sanchez, contrary to the claims of some relatives of the former mayor. They said they went to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) after being told about the impending release of the convict, only to be told later that his freedom has been put on hold.

“Faeldon told us that he had not signed a release paper,” Guevarra said.

Prior approval of the Secretary of Justice in the case of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment or reclusion perpetua is needed, he indicated.

The action of the Department of Justice (DoJ) chief is considered that of the President and it is only in the grant of executive clemency or pardon that the President is needed to act in person.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon asked President Rodrigo Duterte to issue an EO delegating his power to the Secretary of Justice in supervising BuCor and reviewing its decisions.

The senator said this would address the outcry over the supposed early release of convicted rapist and murderer, former Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez, while Congress prepares amendments to the law.

The former mayor was convicted for the 1993 rape and murder of University of the Philippines-Los Baños student Eileen Sarmenta and the killing of her friend Allan Gomez.

The decision was handed down by Pasig City Regional Trial Court Judge Harriet Demetriou on 11 March 1995. The High Bench upheld the ruling in 1999 against Sanchez who was sentenced to seven terms of reclusion perpetua.

“I would suggest that in the meantime, an executive order be issued with the President delegating his power of control over BuCor. Delegate this to the Secretary of Justice, so that the Secretary of Justice could exercise the delegated power of the President that can reverse the decisions of the BuCor. In other words, the Secretary of Justice will act by authority of the President,” Drilon said in a weekly forum in Manila City.

“The legislation takes time and if the problem is immediate, especially considering that there are 11,000 in line, I would suggest that,” the former Justice secretary said.

Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin said those against the DoJ position regarding the coverage and application of the GCTA law may file a case before the Supreme Court (SC). He said if anyone is not satisfied, then they can approach the SC.

The SC ruled on the application of RA 10592 or the GCTA law, stating its provisions contained in its implementing rules and regulations should apply retroactively and not prospectively as earlier provided.

Bersamin said it is up to Guevarra to tell the court what is included in the GCTA. This is due to RA 10592 and a recent SC ruling applying the said law retroactively.

In budget hearings only Drilon, nonetheless, said as it stands now the Secretary of Justice has no power over BuCor.

Despite being an attached agency, BuCor only reports to the DoJ during budget deliberations, he noted.

The Senate leader added the Senate Justice Committee, chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon, will conduct an inquiry on RA 10592.

“It will be conducted by the Committee on Justice since it involves the implementation of the law… and on the side, there should be another confrontation between Senator Gordon and (BuCor) director (Nicanor) Faeldon,” Drilon said.

Gordon had ordered the detention of Faeldon after the latter refused to cooperate during a previous Senate investigation into P6.4 billion worth of smuggled shabu from China.

Last week, Drilon and Senate President Vicente Sotto III filed two separate resolutions seeking for an inquiry on the implementation of the GCTA law.

Gordon filed a bill defining good conduct among inmates to prevent a similar tumult. “In the light of the recent controversy, this bill seeks to improve Republic Act 10592.”

“Good conduct refers to the conspicuous and satisfactory behavior of a detention or convicted prisoner consisting of active involvement in rehabilitation programs, productive participation in authorized work activities or accomplishment of exemplary deeds coupled with faithful obedience to all prison/jail rules and regulations,” Gordon said in his explanatory note.

He added the bill proposes several measures such as the digitalization of prison records to ensure that there would be prompt and accurate information of time served by a prisoner.

Recidivists, habitual delinquents, escapees, persons convicted of heinous crimes and persons charged with another criminal offense while serving their sentences are excluded from the coverage of this provision.

Prisoners who violated the rules of GCTA while serving their good conduct activities should start over and earn the time allowance again.