There is a growing consensus among members of the Minority to thoroughly review and amend the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) Law after issues were raised regarding the questionable implementation of the law, which resulted to the release of 1,914 inmates convicted of heinous crimes.
This according to House Minority Leader and Manila 6th District Rep. Benny Abante Jr., who on Wednesday said that “it is clear that after hearings conducted by both houses of Congress that amendments to the GCTA Law are needed due to the confusion surrounding its provisions, particularly on the issue pertaining to those convicted of heinous crimes.”
The lawmaker stressed that “the conflicting interpretations of the law, in the Minority’s view, speak for itself, and stress the need for a thorough review of the law.”
“Personally, I believe that we need to pass amendments to explicitly bar those convicted of heinous crimes from benefiting from the GCTA, and in relation to this I plan to tap the lawyer-members of the Minority to lead efforts to amend the law to address this gray area.”
Reducing the amount of discretion that can be exercised by implementors of the GCTA Law, added the solon, could also help in the proper application of the law’s provision by insulating it from corruption.
Abante emphasized that Congress needs “to focus on making amendments that will eliminate or minimize discretion on the part of the officials involved in the application of the law, as the more discretion is involved, the more likely it will be vulnerable to corruption.”
Data from BuCor shows that a total of 1,914 prisoners convicted of heinous crimes have been granted early release since 2014 because of the GCTA Law.
Almost half of the inmates released, or 816 convicts, were released during the tenure of BuCor chief Nicanor Faeldon, who was appointed the agency’s head in October 2018.
The Minority Leader said that it was important that members of Congress constantly evaluate the laws they pass so that issues surrounding them can be remedied when necessary.
“Unlike the Ten Commandments… the laws passed by the House are not written in stone; we recognize that after laws are enacted we need to constantly scrutinize the product of our labors to determine if they are able to achieve their intended objectives,” explained Abante.
“When they do not, it is incumbent upon us to find out why, and, if necessary, to make amendments to improve these laws so that they can benefit—and not harm—our constituents.”
