Melegrito appointed BuCor deputy director

MANILA -- President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed retired Lt. Gen. Milfredo Melegrito as deputy director of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

According to a list of appointments from Malacañang, Duterte appointed Melegrito on Aug. 27, days before his official visit to Beijing, China.

Melegrito’s appointment comes amid controversy hounding the BuCor on the release of ex-convicts under the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law or Republic Act 10592.

The law provides new guidelines on how to compute good conduct time, including a 20-day deduction for each month of good behavior during the first two years of imprisonment.

However, inmates charged and convicted of heinous crimes, as well as those recidivists, habitual delinquents, and escapees, are excluded from the coverage of the law.

On Friday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) bared that it will place on hold the release of a foreign exconvict under the GCTA law while issues on the matter are being resolved.