Duterte vows to rid BuCor of corrupt personnel
Showing exasperation over what has been divulged in the past few days, President Duterte said the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) should be allowed to start from scratch, pointing out that “everybody has to go” if found to be corrupt.
Duterte made the statement as the BuCor continued to be under the spotlight in a Senate investigation due to corruption and the questionable release of inmates under the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.
In a speech in Balanga, Bataan, Duterte said that he would be inclined to ignore the mistakes of those who thought they were just implementing the law when they allowed the release of the convicts under the GCTA law.
But he was quick to add that he will not show mercy to those who would be found to have profited from the early release of the convicts.
"So setting aside all the legal infirmities there, even if it was allowed, corruption was present. Sabihin ko lang sa inyo (I will tell you). And everybody will go --- will have to go," he said Thursday evening.
"Not because they were maybe exercising a questionable provision of law and arrogating upon themselves or to themselves that power, wala sa akin 'yan (That's nothing to me). If it has done in good faith, hindi kita anuhin (I will not touch you)," he added.
"Pero kung sabihin mo na 'bayaran,' (But if you are involved in corruption and was paid) ah that is another story. I will hit you not because the law was in the limbo but because of corruption. So 'yan ang maaasahan ninyo diyan (You can expect that)," he continued.
Meanwhile, Duterte reiterated that the GCTA law was really vulnerable to misinterpretation because it was not stated clearly who should decide who gets released.
"Ang problema niyang batas na 'yan, wala talagang batas nagsabi kung sino (The problem with that law is it didn't say who should sign the release orders). That's the greatest hiatus of them all," he said.
"Walang sinabi ang batas kung sinong magpirma (It was not stated there). So the guys there sa (in the) BuCor took upon themselves to arrogate the power and started a practice which was continued," he added.
Duterte said it would be hard to convict those in the BuCor since the law itself was questionable.
"When the Secretary of Justice himself si [Menardo] Guevarra, said that 'We will ask for a clarificatory question or for the Supreme Court to explain,' that law becomes in doubt and questionable, then you cannot convict a person for the rule that he must be proved to be guilty beyond reasonable doubt," he said.
"Eh kung ang mga abogado hindi sigurado (If lawyers are not even sure about it), then how can you convict this idiot? Although it was really --- even if it was regular or allowed, corruption was there," he added.
The controversy in the BuCor led to the sacking of its chief Nicanor Faeldon.
Earlier, convicted rapist and murderer former Calauan, Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez was reported to be set for release because of the said law.
It was also reported that 1,914 heinous crimes convicts were released because of the law despite the measure stating that such prisoners were not qualified to avail of the law's benefits.