Convicted rapist and murderer Antonio Sanchez may get out of Bilibid soon because of a reduced prison term.
This was disclosed by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Tuesday, August 20, adding that the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) has started processing inmates convicted in 1993, or those who have been in jail for nearly 26 years.
Sanchez, then-mayor of Calauan, Laguna, was convicted in 1993 for the rape of University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB) student Mary Eileen Sarmenta. Sanchez was also convicted for the double murder of Sarmenta and her boyfriend Alan Gomez. He was sentenced to 7 terms of reclusion perpetua, or a maximum of 40-year imprisonment terms, but to be served simultaneously.
The SC ruling that made Republic Act No. 10592 or the GCTA law retroactive or applicable to convicts sentenced prior to its 2013 enactment, will lead to the mass release of around 11,000 National Bilibid Prison inmates, according to Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director Nicanor Faeldon.
