Former Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez, who was convicted in the 1990s for the rape-slay of two college students, is dead.
The Bureau of Corrections announced today that Sanchez was brought to the National Bilibid Prison Hospital at about 8:30am, where he was declared dead on arrival. His body is now being autopsied.
Sanchez was hospitalized in September 2020 for community-acquired pneumonia, but he had tested negative for COVID-19. He also had hypertension, diabetes, and kidney disease.
Read: Ex-mayor behind torture, murder of two 19-year-olds may be released for ‘good behavior’
Sanchez was convicted in 1995 to seven life sentences for the heinous torture and killing of University of the Philippines Los Baños students, Eileen Sarmenta and her boyfriend, Allan Gomez in 1993. Sanchez was later caught with over a million-peso worth of meth stashed inside a Virgin Mary statue while behind bars.
Despite this, the notorious ex-mayor was considered eligible for early release in 2019 under the controversial Republic Act No. 10592, also known as the Good Conduct Time Allowance. The law deducts as many as 30 days from a prisoner’s term for every month served if they display good behavior during detention, effectively cutting some sentences in half.
Read: More than 350 released under ‘good conduct’ law surrender; clock ticking for 1,800 more
After widespread public outrage, the government announced that Sanchez might not qualify for early release from prison after all due to several behavioral violations he made in detention, including possessing meth.
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