Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 11) — President Rodrigo Duterte believes detained Senator and former Justice Chief Leila de Lima and ex-Interior Secretary Mar Roxas should be held accountable for the early release of heinous crime convicts.

The Republic Act 10592 Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law, which shaves time off an inmate's sentence on the basis of good behavior, was passed during the time of Duterte's predecessor, President Benigno Aquino III. Duterte pointed out that its Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR) of the law was penned by De Lima and Roxas in 2014.

"Eh sila 'yung gumawa ng batas sa panahon nila. 'Yung IRR kanila. So tanungin natin sila, 'Bakit ginanun ninyo?' Hindi man amin 'yan. Now we get the flak," he said in an interview with reporters on Tuesday.

[Translation: They made those rules during their term. They made the IRR, so we should ask them why they did that. We did not issue the IRR, but now we are getting the flak.]

READ: Computing ‘good conduct’: How time served in prison is shortened based on behavior

There was public outrage against the Duterte administration and the Bureau of Corrections and its sacked Chief Nicanor Faeldon when news emerged that convicted rapist-murderer Antonio Sanchez was set to be freed early on the basis of good conduct. It also shocked the public that 1,914 heinous crime convicts have been released since 2014, including four convicts in the rape-slay of the Chiong sisters in 1997.

Duterte said the IRR created by DOJ and DILG under De Lima and Roxas' watch was vague.

"You should have placed that in a clear ... accurate manner so that there will be no room for mistake," he said.

De Lima and Roxas were asked by the Ombudsman to explain why people charged with heinous crimes are not included in the disqualified inmates when it's included in the law.

READ: Ombudsman asks De Lima, Roxas to explain their GCTA rules

In the IRR, under the GCTA section, it says detained prisoners qualified for credit for preventive imprisonment can benefit from the law. Under the credit for preventive imprisonment, it states that only recidivists, an accused who was convicted more than twice, and anyone accused who was summoned, but failed to surrender, are disqualified from it.

Roxas asked in a Facebook post why they are being "singled out" when they did not write the law that expanded the GCTA policy. He also said the officials who approved the release of convicts, the members of the committee who approved their release and people who give credits for good conduct should be investigated, too.

Meanwhile, De Lima said she finds the Ombudman’s order “highly irregular.”

"Is this a set-up for me and Sec. Mar into taking the fall for the Sanchez-Faeldon scandal with which we have nothing to do?” De Lima asked.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the joint committee of DOJ and DILG will explicitly exclude convicts of heinous crimes when they complete the process of revising the IRR. The release of inmates through the GCTA has been temporarily suspended as the joint committee finishes its work on polishing the IRR.

Duterte: Rearrest order a 'risk'

With his earlier order to rearrest released heinous crime convicts after his 15-day deadline, Duterte said it has to be enforced even if he thinks it may be taken against him.

"Ako, I take risk here na in-order ko ang re-arrest pero ang totoo talaga, absent talaga ang batas. Tignan ninyo. Wala man heinous crime doon," he said.

[Translation: I am taking a risk by ordering their rearrest. But it's because the rules aren't there, there is no mention of 'heinous crime' there.]

The President added, "I took the risk na mag-report sila, tutal kung hindi palabasin ko naman sila uli. Wala mang ano sa akin, but risk. Go ko 'yan. But because there was this fire burning, I have to put it out," he said."

Only 230 of the freed 1,914 heinous crime convicts have surrendered to authorities, days before the September 19 deadline set by Duterte. The police said tracking all of them is proving challenging, given the information they have on hand. A shoot-to-kill order will be carried out after the deadline lapses.