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Friday, March 29, 2024

Abhorrent

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We join the chorus: A vehement and resounding “no.”

There is only outrage as the nation mulls a scenario where former Calauan, Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez walks out of jail despite serving a total of nine 40-year jail terms for his heinous crimes. He was sentenced to seven counts of reclusion perpetua for the rape and murder of Eileen Sarmenta and the murder of Allan Gomez, both students of UP Los Baños, in 1993. Two years earlier, he was convicted of two counts of murder for the deaths of Nelson and Rick Peñalosa, father and son.

It is true that Republic Act 10592, approved on May 29, 2013 by then President Benigno Aquino III, revises the rules for computing the Good Conduct Time Allowance given to inmates. That law amends certain portions of the Revised Penal Code with regard to deductions from actual sentences owing to so-called good behavior.

Abhorrent

It is also true that at first, the implementing rules and regulations said that the law would only have prospective application—meaning, it would only apply to cases after its passage. This, however, was challenged before the Supreme Court. The high court ruled that the law could also be applied retroactively.

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This was how Sanchez was able to even contemplate a life outside of prison despite being consigned to centuries of incarceration—at least, in theory.

By any stretch of imagination, though, it is difficult to imagine how Sanchez could ever be deemed to have shown good behavior. In 2006, authorities found shabu and marijuana inside Sanchez’s jail during a surprise inspection. Years later, he again was caught with P1.5 million worth of shabu, concealed in a statue of the Virgin Mary—he claims to be a Marian devotee.

The deaths of the UP students shocked a nation that was not easily shocked by crime and misbehaving politicians. The sheer evil of what happened is now being recounted in various articles circulating the Internet.

It does not help that the lawyer who argued for Sanchez’s defense in the 1990s has now morphed into a presidential spokesman. After all, this happened before Salvador Panelo even imagined he would be speaking for the highest official of the land.

The penal system is for rehabilitation and restoration. Ours, however, is far from perfect. How was Sanchez able to live in relative luxury in jail? How can we ascertain that those who vouch for his “good behavior” have not been persuaded? Where does he get the gall to maintain his innocence despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary? And what about thousands of others who were not given a fair trial, who continue to languish in jail, and who simply do not have friends in high places?

In an administration saddled with the baggage of double standards, impunity, inconsistency and ignominy, even the suggestion of freeing convicted rapist and murderer Sanchez makes us retch.

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