Nocppo to form tracker team vs GCTA convicts

By: Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (Nocppo) will create a tracker team to go after convicts released through Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) Law, who failed to surrender to authorities.

Police Colonel Romeo Baleros, Nocppo director, said the tracker team will be organized in each police station in the province to focus on going after these convicts, after the September 19 deadline for them to surrender already lapsed yesterday.

“They are considered fugitives because of their failure to surrender or go back to the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor),” he added.

Baleros said they are just following the instructions of President Rodrigo Duterte, who earlier ordered the convicts to surrender until September 19.

In Negros Occidental, 62 GCTA recipients were recorded while 23 in Bacolod City.

Of the total figure in the province, 13 submitted themselves to the police since Sept 9 while only three turned in themselves to the police here as of yesterday.

“It’s better for them to surrender, because if they tried to fight back against the tracker team, we have to enforce what is necessary,” Baleros said.

Convicts who failed to surrender will be subjected to house visitation.

We are actually doing a soft approach here, because we will visit them in their houses and talked to their families about the procedure and order of the president, he said.