GCTA surrenderers with health conditions will be detained in a ‘special facility’

Police Lieutenant Colonel Hector Amancia, deputy chief of Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7), says on Sept. 16, 2019 that the senior citizen GCTA surrenderers will first undergo medical checkup after they are turned over to CIDG-7. | CDN Digital Photo / ALVEN MARIE A. TIMTIM

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7) will be giving special attention to those convicts released under good conduct time allowance (GCTA) with health conditions.

With three days left before the deadline set for the convicts to surrender, Police Lieutenant Colonel Hector Amancia, CIDG-7 deputy chief, told reporters  on Monday, September 16, that they have started to prepare for accommodations suited for GCTA surrenderers who are senior citizens with medical conditions.

Amancia said they had discussed this matter with the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) and Police Regional Office in Central Visayas ((PRO-7) and have come to an agreement that senior citizen GCTA-freed convicts who will surrender to the police will be required to undergo medical check-up after they are turned over to CIDG-7.

Those found to have medical conditions and no longer fit to be placed in common cells  will be provided with “more special facility,” added Amancia.

He said they were still coordinating with PRO-7 to determine the kind and location of the facility that will be provided for ailing surrenderers.

Since the process for the GCTA surrenderers will take time and these individuals will experience limited resources when they surrender,  Amancia said the CIDG-7 office will want to make sure their health is cared of.

Aside from the special accommodation, Amancia said these convicts will still undergo the same profiling procedure with the others and will have to wait for the official statement from the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor),  which will decide how to transport them back to the National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City and the recomputation of their jail time records.

As of Monday, September 16, there were already 30 GCTA surrenderers from all over Central Visayas,  17 of whom are in the custody of CIDG-7 while the others are still on their way to to Cebu.

After the September 19 deadline set by President Rodrigo Duterte, Amancia said they will immediately conduct a manhunt operation for the GCTA-freed convicts who did not surrender./elb