MANILA - Sen. Christopher "Bong" Go on Wednesday said he wants a "killer" to step in as chief of the embattled Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) after its former head Nicanor Faeldon was sacked last week by President Rodrigo Duterte.

"Basta ako nirerecommend ko kay Pangulo [na] mamuno dyan sa BuCor, killer. Ang mamumuno ng BuCor dapat killer," Go told reporters.

Go said he had some people in mind, who are retired uniformed officials. But he did not give further details about his recommendation.

"Former military o kaya pulis, basta killer," he said.

Faeldon was sacked by the President after he approved the release of several heinous-crime convicts under the controversial good conduct time allowance (GCTA) law, which makes inmates eligible for early release depending on their behavior in prison.

• Duterte fires BuCor chief Faeldon

Critics, along with authors of the law, have argued that heinous-crime convicts are excluded from the coverage of the GCTA law.

• Faeldon 'liable' for freeing heinous crime convicts: GCTA Law co-author

Some 2,000 heinous-crime convicts have been released under the said law since 2014, igniting public uproar and official scrutiny of the law.

• BuCor data show nearly 2,000 heinous crime convicts released early since 2014

Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, Go's closest ally in the Senate, previously admitted he released some 120 heinous-crime convicts during his stint as BuCor chief in 2018.

• Bato says released around 120 heinous crime convicts during BuCor stint