Surrender or be tagged fugitives

With the deadline winding down, Malacañang yesterday urged inmates granted release under the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) Law who have yet to surrender to immediately turn themselves in or risk being tagged as “fugitives from justice.”

President Rodrigo Duterte last 4 September issued an ultimatum to prisoners convicted of heinous crimes and freed from the New Bilibid Prisons as their offenses are not covered by the charter and has since ordered the temporary suspension of the GCTA law pending its review.

Hundreds have already surrendered, while those who will not meet the deadline shall be subjected to warrantless arrests as ordered by the Chief Executive.

“As the President said when the 15-day deadline lapses then they will be deemed to be fugitives from justice and they can be arrested,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a news conference.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) reported on Monday that the number of freed convicts who turned themselves has already reached 435 with only a few days left before the deadline.

In a statement, the PNP said that of that total number, 253 turned themselves over to the Bureau of Corrections as of 6 a.m. and noted that 140 were murder convicts while 130 were convicted rapists.

“The fact is there are 400 of them coming in; could be that others may not have known of the deadline. But just the same, the order of the President remains,” Panelo said.

The President earlier said he will place a P1-million bounty on each of the inmates who will not surrender before his deadline lapses.

Duterte has also ordered the recomputation of the GCTA credits given to the thousands of inmates.

The GCTA law, which was passed during the Aquino administration, became controversial after it was reported that among its beneficiaries would be convicted rapist-murderer Antonio Sanchez.