President Rodrigo Duterte announced that he’s demanding for the resignation of Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Nicanor Faeldon amid the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law mess.
In a press conference, Duterte said that he wanted Faeldon to resign immediately after the latter became allegedly involved in freeing several high profile convicts in the national penitentiary.
Lawmakers also found that Faeldon signed the release order of former Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez who’s facing 7 life sentences.
“Faeldon has to go because Faeldon disobeyed my order,” President Duterte said.
According to President Duterte, Faeldon didn’t follow him even if he already told BuCor and Department of Justice not to free any high profile convicts without any order from “higher authority.”
“With Faeldon out, I am ordering all that have had the opportunity to be in that committee, all of them in the BuCor, to report to me and to the secretary of justice. In the meantime, I will not suspend them but they will be investigated. This goes straight to the Ombudsman. There was an admission they were remiss in their duties,” said Duterte.
The statements of the President contradicted presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo who said that Duterte is not going to fire Faeldon until the congressional hearings are concluded.
Faeldon also became controversial during his term as the Bureau of Customs (BOC) chief.
According to some critics, there are over 2,000 convicts freed because of “good behavior” under GCTA law since it was signed in 2013 during the Aquino administration.
However, the discussion about GCTA only became a hot topic because of the rumors about Sanchez’ possible release.