MANILA - Has the “tara system” migrated to the Bureau of Corrections from the Bureau of Customs?

Sen. Panfilo Lacson asked this Wednesday as he cast doubt over the process of releasing convicts for supposed good conduct.

In a tweet, Lacson suggested that corruption has reached the BuCor, which is tasked to compute the good conduct time allowance of convicts under a 2013 law.

“From release of smuggled goods to release of convicts. Has the Bureau of Customs’ ‘tara system’ migrated to the Bureau of Corrections?” he said, referring to the bribery system at the customs bureau.

News that convicted rapist-killer Antonio Sanchez might be released from imprisonment because of a 2013 law which increased the GCTA earlier caused outrage, with many saying the former mayor was never reformed.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra later backpedaled, saying Sanchez was not qualified for GCTA since he was convicted of heinous crimes.

RA 10592 was passed in 2013 under then President Benigno Aquino III with the goal of decongesting prisons and giving a second chance to reformed convicts. The Supreme Court ruled in June that it should be applied to prison sentences given even prior to the law’s passage.

More than two decades since he was convicted, Sanchez still maintains innocence, saying he was a victim of a frame-up by his political enemies.

• Convicted rapist-killer Antonio Sanchez claims 'set-up' in killing of 2 students

In the wake of the controversy, the justice department over the weekend said it will inform the SC of the need to suspend the processing of GCTA for convicts.