Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has allayed fears that former Calauan, Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez will be released through the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) system.
According to Guevarra, inmates convicted of heinous crimes, like Sanchez, are not entitled to benefit from the law cutting short the prison terms of inmates who have shown good behavior while serving their sentences.
" Eligibility under the 2013 law on expanded GCTA defines who are covered and said that among those who cannot benefit from that law are certain persons, such as recidivists, habitual delinquents, and persons charged of heinous crimes. That is a process of elimination," Guevarra explained.
Sanchez was sentenced to seven counts of reclusion perpetua or up to 40 years imprisonment by the Pasig Regional Trial Court in 1995 for the rape-slay of University of the Philippine (UP) Los Baños student Eileen Sarmenta and the murder of her boyfriend, Allan Gomez in 1993.
Four years later, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's ruling against Sanchez.
While there is no existing definition of heinous crimes following the suspension of the Heinous Crimes Act (RA 7659), the term appeared in the expanded GCTA so Guevarra instructed Bureau of Corrections chief Nicanor Faeldon to thoroughly review cases for high profile or heinous crimes.
Aside from being guilty of heinous crimes, Sanchez also failed to show good behavior while incarcerated. During a random inspection in 2010, jail officers seized a kilo of shabu worth P1.5 million concealed in one of the Blessed Virgin Mary statues inside the former mayor's cell at the New Bilibid Prison. - ISMAEL AMIGO
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