BY JP LOPEZ

JUSTICE Secretary Raul Gonzalez has ordered the immediate return of former Rep. Romeo Jalosjos to the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City after a Zamboanga court yesterday rejected his petition for writ of habeas corpus.

Jalosjos was re-arrested and detained at the San Ramon penal colony in Zamboanga del Norte last Dec. 23, a day after he "escaped" from the national penitentiary.

He filed the petition for habeas corpus questioning the legality of his re-arrest, saying his release was ordered as early as Dec. 16.

Jalosjos’ escape resulted in the dismissal of Bureau of Corrections director Ricardo Dapat.

Dapat has said that had he kept Jalosjos detained beyond Dec. 16, he could have been charged with arbitrary detention.

Because of this, he said, he could not do anything else but issue release papers to Jalosjos.

Gonzalez had voided the erroneous release order and issued a directive that Jalosjos stay in jail until June 2010.

Gonzalez said the DOJ is seriously considering charges of evasion of sentence against Jalosjos.

Gonzalez said the court’s decision to junk Jalosjos’ petition in effect sustained the DOJ’s re-computation on Jalosjos’ jail term.

The re-computation showed Jalosjos could be released on June 24, 2010, not Dec. 16, 2007 as earlier recommended by the Bureau of Correction.

In 15-page resolution on the re-computation of Jalosjos’ commuted sentence dated January 1, the DOJ disapproved two kinds of good conduct time allowance given to Jalosjos by the BuCor, which would have reduced his stay in prison by more than two years and six months.

Jalosjos was convicted of statutory rape in 1997 and sentenced to double life terms. Last April, President Arroyo commuted his sentence to 16 years.