MANILA - Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Friday named a Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) official as the agency's interim head following the sacking of Nicanor Faeldon over the early release of heinous crime convicts.

The justice department announced that Guevarra designated BuCor Assistant Secretary and Deputy Director General Melvin Ramon Buenafe as BuCor officer-in-charge.

Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra has designated Assistant Secretary and Deputy Director General Melvin Ramon G. Buenafe Officer-in-Charge of the Office of the BuCor Director General.

— Department of Justice (DOJ) (@DOJPH) September 6, 2019

In Department Order No. 468, Guevarra empowered Buenafe to mind BuCor's day-to-day affairs, "effect permissible movements of BuCor personnel," and "adopt strict measures to ensure the integrity and proper safekeeping of official records," including those surrounding the controversial good conduct time allowance (GCTA) system.

The GCTA grants early release to prisoners on account of good conduct. It has courted controversy over the release of some 2,000 heinous crime convicts supposedly not entitled to such grant under the law.

Buenafe takes the reins of the BuCor amid recent allegations of a "GCTA for sale" racket at the New Bilibid Prisons.

• DOJ chief eyes suspension of prison bureau execs tagged in 'GCTA for sale'

He was formerly with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and a batchmate of Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, a former police and BuCor chief, at the Philippine Military Academy "Sinagtala" Class of 1986.

In a separate order, Guevarra also created a committee to keep a close watch of the bureau, an attached agency under the Department of Justice, pending President Rodrigo Duterte's appointment of a new BuCor chief.

The committee will be headed by Justice Undersecretary Deo Marco and have Assistant Secretaries Neal Bainto and George Ortha II as members.

He has likewise created a committee headed by DOJ Undersecretary Deo L. Marco, with Assistant Secretaries Neal V. Bainto and George Ortha II, to exercise close administrative supervision over the Bureau pending appointment by the President of a new Director General. pic.twitter.com/LJYn9yYtst

— Department of Justice (DOJ) (@DOJPH) September 6, 2019

Duterte had sacked Faeldon on Wednesday following the controversial early release of heinous crime convicts on good conduct credits.

• Duterte fires BuCor chief Faeldon