. MANIIA, PHITIPPINES.
I THURSDAV 5 SEPTEMBER 2QI9,,
last night, Faeldon has to go bgcause Faeldon disobeyed
'lidecided
' "Byl0istina Maralitanil Hananeel Bordey
''':
Presido4t Rodrigo Duterte has
, sacked Nicanor laeldon as Bureau
of Corrections (Bu0or) diroctor
general amid tho contiovoisy
, surrounding the early release'of
convict$ under the Good 0orl{uct
Time Allowance' (GCTA)' llaw.
In a hastily- called news
conference in Malacaflang, the
Chief Executive said he winted
ii Faeldon out after documents
PRES|DENTRodrigoDutertesaysBuCorchief hasto.go, showed the latter signed the
\d\
w\eitJ;:6-rt6r,;dat
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release papers of several inmates
convicted-of-heinous crimes,,,:..
"Yes,'t Mr, Duterte replied to reporters
when asked if he is categorically
announcing the firing of Faeldon. trl
decided last night, Faeldon has to go
because Faeldon ilisobeyed my order,".
, of the President and,that he would "make
He also callod on the Office of the
Ombudsman !o place Faeldon under
irwestigation'lfor possible corruption. "
0n lus spokesman Salvador Panolo, Mq.
Duierte said he did not commit conflict
of intgrest for referring the request for
clemency to the Board'of Pardons affd
--^;_
ParoJe and in meeting the family of
Sanchez twice |n his office in Malaqafrang.
Surrender or be hunted
The President also instructed the
almost 2,000 inmates freod to surrender
qtwithin
15 days" or he would'be forced to
put a f l million bounty on each of them.
To tecall, , Mr, Duterte, during his,
recenf trip to China, said release orders
of conyicts did not pass through the Office
answerable " whoever approved their GCTA.
fhe BuOor chief came under fire
after news surfaced,that his office had
apprpved convicted rapist-killer Antonio
Sanchezlp ielease based on good conduct
while in prison. Turn'to page A2
llFKr PAW tou
 f-'-
I
Fadldon gets boot
Hehlsoeallpdontheofficeoftheombudsm?l
io ptace Faeldon under investigation for possible
corruption
froln page I authoiity, obviously the ball is -tn "
Sanchez was supposed to '
be releas'ed last August,for his
ugood conductn behind
supposed
bars. This, however, did not
push through following Public
outtrye.
Faeldon admitted he signed an
order that suPPosedlY started the
processing of Sanchez's release,
but insisted he had no choice but
to follow RePublic Act (RA) 10592'
the 2013 law which Paved the waY
for the GCTA to be imPlemented.
retroactively and decrease prison
time of inmates.
fire Palace, however, earlier
argued that those convicted
of heinous crimes and rePeat
offenderc',&re j rdisqualified from
benefitting from the said law.
The,P,iesl.dent. has ordgrb$ : If Useci Faeldon tnrly respests the
the Department of Justice (DoJ)
uno President, he must do the right
to ensure that there will be thing. I'm PrettY sure everything
releasesn Pending the review of will work out for him in the end,'
RA 10592.
'SPare DU30'
First the comPlement: Senator
Manny Pacquiao exPressed belief
. that Faeldon is a good and honest
man amid the controversies facing
him.
The knockout Punchline from
the planet's boxing icon, however,
was that the former military rebel
should vacate his Post for the
meantime while an investigation
onthe implementation of the Good
Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA)
Law is undeitaken.
The President is
unnecessarilY dragged
into t-his whole mess.
t
: (to be true) and was clearlY
uI know that UndersecretarY
Faeldon is a good man and has
served his countrY well, but I
reallybelieve that he can spare the
President and this administration
from embarrassment,n Pacquiao
advised.
' ult is temPorary anyway and he
can easily go back to the Bu0or or
' in any other government Position
i ".il"thi;H;. has been fultY
L clarified," Pacquiao's statement
I added.
I
of the death PenaltY on certain
heinous crimes,n Pacquiao said.
;Efrffiio ert..r .fc*.ctions
i
tare ienate inquiry despite $en, Manny Pacquiao's
his honestY and integritY.
the Senator added.
The lawmaker insisted that he
ufully believes in the integrrty and
honestyn of the BuCor'chief' but
the aborted release of raPe-slaY
corwict Antonio Sanchez "demands
his full and undivided attention
especially in attending ongoing
investigations bY the Senate and
the House of RePresentatives."
TaIl tale
Pacquiao indicated the
supposed release of the former
Caliuan mayor and other criminals
detained due to heinous crimes
should not have haPPened.
The tegislator, however, noted
the alleged G0TA-for-sale inside
the Bu0or is just "too fantastic
exaggerated.'
Thus, the senator reiterated his
call for tile death penalty given the
recent controvbrsies that came
out, including the botched release
of prisoners convicted of heinous
crimes.
nThis GCTA Law should be
reviewed and should onlY co-ver
petty- crimes. On the other hand,
ihis controversy should
-already
serve tN a wakeup call for Cor!.greSs
to finally aPProVe rqimPosition
allegations thrown against him-
resignation is a personal decision'*
in offing
BevamP
Senate President Vicente
chief Nicanor Faeldon {left).will still
expression of trust in
Soito III betiwed Mr. Duterte will
overhaul BuCor amid the recent
controversies ptaguing the jail and
justice sYstem. :
: "Theway I know the President'
I'llventure a guess that he will
revamp the whole officialdom. He
will not leave anyone behind. I will
supportwhat Senator Bong Go has
saiO ttrat neads will roll,' Sotto said
in an ambush interview.
Not Senatets call
Senator SonnY Angara also
urged Faeldon to take a leave of
absence or resign to ensure an
impartial investigation.
Alleged G0TA-for'sale
inside the BuCor is just
too fantastic (to be
true) and was clearlY
exaggerated.
"It is best if he will leave or
resign. If he doesn't want to resign
from his post, at least he should
leave to give waY to-an imPartial
investigation,n Anglira said.
Meanwhile, Senators
',ff1?;l'i?.:$i,Fi
JTltl: \
;ili1;
decision to the Chief Executive,
fim ouN €
saytng the Senate \as no authoritY
to fire Faeldon desPite
the corruPtion
,i,
"I have alwaYs maintained that
and nobodY is more entitled to *
it than Usec. Faeldon himself'
Since he alreadY stated that he is '
leaving his fate to the aPPointtng
the Preiident's court to decide'
Ilaving said that, the challenge "'
for good governance including his
olt-rePeaiedvowto fight drugs and
corruption is now Put to test once 1
more,n Lacson said.
Marcos, whose mother formel
first lady Imelda Marcos was one of
the officials asked to refer a letter
for executive clemencY of Sanchez,
expressed the same oPinion'
"Just what I said, who am I to t
judge? I am not in the Position to
i.*ou. or retain Usec. Faeldon' I
believe the higher authority will .
quickly act on the matter,' Marcos
Jaid, referring to the President' i
called r
Changes
Ttrere is a growing conseluills ,
among members of the minoritY
coalition to amend the GCTA Law ,
after it was wron$Y imPlemented,
resirlting to the release of 1'914
inmates convicted of heinous ,
crimes.
House MinoritY Leader and
Manila ReP. BennYAbante Jr' said
'
this at the weekly press conference
of the minoritY bloc YesterdaY'
"It is clearthd afterthe hearingg
condueted bY both chambers of
Congress that amendments to
ttre GCtl, Law are needed due
to the confusion surrounding its
provisions, ParticularlY on the'
issue pertaining to those corwicted
of heinous crimes."
Abante said he Plans to
tap the lawYer-members of the
minority to lead efforts to amerd
Republic Act 10592 or the GCTA
Law to "eliminate" or "minimize '
discretionn of the offrcials applying
the law, saYing that the more
discretion is involved, the more
likely it will be vulnerable to
corruption. Hananeel BordcY'
Ke th GalaYag
tl N Y
F-)