Police Colonel Gemma Vinluan, Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) director, during her talk in the 888 Forum held at Marco Polo Hotel, Cebu City on Tuesday morning, September 3.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) will closely monitor convicted persons released under the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.
This is the pledge of Police Colonel Gemma Vinluan, CCPO director, following the news that almost 2,000 prisoners were released because of GCTA since 2013 when RA 10592 was signed into law.
On September 2, Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Nicanor Faeldon confirmed that three of the seven men convicted for the rape and murder of sisters Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong have been released under the GCTA law.
READ: Faeldon confirms release of 3 convicts in Chiong sisters rape-slay case
READ: Palace: Freed heinous crime convicts under GCTA rule must return to jail
Vinluan said the police does not want convicted rapists and murderers to move around the city without being monitored by the authorities.
“Kung ayaw po ninyo, kayo po na mga ordinaryong sibilyan, how much more kaming mga pulis na nagbubuwis ng buhay?” said Vinluan at the 888 News Forum held on Tuesday morning, September 3, at the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu.
(If ordinary citizen like you don’t want these people out of jail, how much more for police, like us, who risk our lives to capture them?)
Vinluan said that those who will get plea bargain deals and will significantly cut or shorten their jail times should also remember that their actions will be monitored by the police.
Vinulan said they already requested a list of inmates from the Cebu City Jail who applied for plea bargains in order to properly monitor their movements in case they will be released from prison.
She said they have to make sure that these individuals will not go back to their old habits.
“Magbagong buhay sila. Kung hindi, ibabalik namin sila dyan sa kulungan (They better change their ways or else we will put them back in jail),” said Vinluan.
In a separate interview, Cebu City Executive Judge Macaundas Hadjirasul told reporters that there was no court involvement on the GCTA law.
He refused to comment about the release of the three men convicted in the rape-slay case of the Chiong sisters.
“No comment. That is a police matter. In fact, there is no court involvement [in that issue]. That is the job of the Bureau of Corrections and BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology),” said Hadjirasul. / celr