MINDANAO DAILY The Purveyor of Truth, Justice and Development
S ince
Volume IX, No. 097
www.mindanaodailynews.com
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
1923
P15.00
Police warn on arresting GCTA freed prisoners By CRIS DIAZ Executive Editor
LAW enforcers arresting freed prisoners who availed of the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) could be held criminally liable, a veteran legislator said. Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, of Cagayan De Oro City, said that the prisoners who have availed of the GCTA were released on the presumption that they were no longer deprived of their liberty. He said that while President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered all the prisoners to return to prison for a prescribed period, the President’s order did not negate the fact that the prisoners were already released.
Duterte issued an order for all prisoners who availed of the GCTA provisions retroactive 2014 to return to prison pending final review of the documentation or face arrest. Rodriguez said that the police or law enforcers must secure a warrant of arrest before they could arrest the freed prisoner. “The police must file a petition to grant warrants of arrest on the person subject of an arrest in the court where the person was sentenced to serve prison,” Rodriguez said. Without a warrant of arrest, the police could face illegal arrest and arbitrary See FREED, page 11
Heavy equipment are being to lay the groundwork for the construction of the megadike along the Cagayan de Oro City River. photo by gerry lee gorit
Townsfolk stops cutting down of giant Toog tree By CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN Contributing Editor
SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur -- The centuries-old giant Toog tree of this town believed to be the tallest in the country will no longer be cut down after all. Concerned residents, local officials and tree preser vation advocates had reached a common ground in a meeting at the town hall yesterday the that
the 54-meter Philippine Rosewood (Petersianthus quadrialatus) will be spared from the cutting down order by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. DENR Caraga Regional Executive Director Felix Alicer had earlier gave a gosignal to cut down the tree due to the potential danger it poses to the lives of people, particularly commut-
ers passing by the national highway. The giant Toog tree , already a landmark tourist spot of this town, is situated just a few meters of the Maharlika highway in Barangay Alegria. “We will do everything possible to preserve the Toog tree. It’s everybody’s concern. This is a national heritage,” said Mayor Solomon Rufila as the meeting concluded.
Engineer Mauro Bravo Jr., an old-timer resident and a former District Engineer of the Department of Public Works and Highways, has led to move to defer the order as he pushed for another professional advise form an arborist to examine the condition of the towering tree estimated to be around 300 years old. majestic 54-meter giant Toog tree in San Francisco, “Let’s make the tree The Agusan del Sur was saved from its impending death by See STOPS, page 11
a common consensus from townsfolk. chris v. panganiban
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