MANILA, Philippines — The three convicts for the 1997 Chiong sisters rape and murder case in Cebu were released from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) on good behavior last month, Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Nicanor Faeldon confirmed yesterday.
Upon questioning from Sen. Panfilo Lacson during an inquiry of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, Faeldon said Josman Aznar, Ariel Balansag and Alberto Caño were released in August.
“I can’t remember ordering the release because I really don’t distinguish cases of these PDLs (persons deprived of liberty),” the BuCor chief told Lacson.
The senator however presented a copy of release orders signed by BuCor Technical Chief Supt. Maria Fe Marquez on behalf of Faeldon.
“Have they been released?” Lacson pressed further to which the BuCor chief replied in the affirmative.
The committee, chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon, is conducting a probe into the controversial release of some 1,914 inmates convicted of heinous crimes including rape and murder convict Antonio Sanchez, the Chiong convicts, as well as several Chinese drug traffickers.
The release was in implementation of Republic Act 10592 or the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) Law of 2013, which allows the reduction of a prisoner’s sentence using a formula tallying his or her good behavior.
An ABS-CBN report last week showed a memo issued and signed by Marquez, head of BuCor’s Directorate for Reformation, last Aug. 16 ordering NBP superintendent to free Aznar, Balansag and Caño because of the retroactive application of the GCTA law.
The memo stated the three already served 40 years in prison.
The three were among the seven convicted in 1999 for the kidnapping, rape and killing of sisters Jacqueline and Marijoy Chiong.
Also convicted in the case were Francisco Juan Larrañaga, brothers James Andrew and James Anthony Uy, and Rowen Adlawan. The Uys and Adlawan remain in prison while Larrañaga, who holds dual Filipino-Spanish citizenship, was extradited to Spain in 2009.
Marquez confirmed she signed the memo, prompting Lacson to ask why she has the authority to make such decisions to free those convicted of heinous crimes.