By The SUN
Women’s rights group Gabriela Hong Kong has joined the
uproar over the planned release from jail of former mayor Antonio Sanchez who
was sentenced to seven life sentences in 1995 for the gruesome murder and rape
of a young student and the killing of her boyfriend.
The group urged the public to block Sanchez’s release,
saying he remains a danger to society, especially to women.
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| Prison officials say Sanchez (in orange) is still in prison (Inquirer photo) |
Sanchez, who was mayor of Calauan, Laguna when he raped Eileen
Sarmenta and had her killed along with her boyfriend Alan Gomez in 1993, was
reportedly about to be released for supposed good conduct while in jail.
This is said to be in line with Republic Act No. 10592,
which increased the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) accorded to inmates.
But Gabriela HK asked, “Did money talk in this case?”
The group pointed out that RA 10592 excludes criminals
convicted of “heinous crimes” so Sanchez should not benefit from it.
It also decried that under President Duterte’s rule,
high-profile criminals like Sanchez, Imelda Marcos, Bong Revilla, Juan Ponce
Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada were either released or exonerated while human
rights activists and government critics are either harassed or locked up on
trumped-up charges.
“We cannot allow this travesty of justice to happen,” said
Gabriela HK. “What kind of justice do we have where the innocents are jailed
and killed but the guilty get away with heinous crimes?”
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| Sanchez during his trial in 1995 |
The group pointed out that while in prison, Sanchez continued
his criminal acts. He was found with a kilo of shabu or ice worth P1.5 million
inside a statue of the Virgin Mary in his jail cell in 2010. Five years later,
he was found to have kept illegal appliances in his cell, like an air
conditioning unit and a flat-screen TV.
These, after his trial exposed that Sanchez had caused his
henchmen to abduct Sarmenta, then raped her. Not content with this, Sanchez
turned over the young girl to his bodyguards, who proceeded to gang-rape, then
kill her. Gomez was tortured by the group before being killed, and his body
left by the roadside.
After a 16-month trial, Sanchez was given seven life
sentences, making a total of 360 years. Recent news reports say Sanchez was
convicted of two other murder charges afterwards, making his sentence a total
of nine life imprisonments.
Gabriela HK said prison authorities should not be allowed to
violate the law by releasing Sanchez.
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