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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Up to President Marcos, Bantag's status at BuCor' – Sec. Remulla

'Up to President Marcos, Bantag's status at BuCor' – Sec. Remulla

Published Nov 22, 2022 03:05 pm

BuCor Director General Gerald Q. Bantag

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla on Tuesday, Nov. 22, said it is up to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. whether or not to dismiss Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Executive Director Gerald Q. Bantag.

Remulla said his Oct. 21 order that placed Bantag under preventive suspension was on orders of President Marcos.

“I will see the President very soon and I will ask him his decision about this matter,” Remulla said during an interview on CNN Philippines.

He clarified, however, that he will not make any recommendation. “He (the President) can discern very well what the problem is,” he said.

Aside from the two murder complaints for the deaths of radio commentator Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa and inmate Cristito Villamor Palana, the alleged middleman in the slaying of the broadcaster, several investigations are ongoing or will be conducted at BuCor under the leadership of Bantag.

These probes are on the joint venture agreement (JVA) signed by Bantag with a private real estate developer for the turnover of the NBP compound in Muntinlupa City in exchange for a piece of land in Nueva Ecija where NBP would be transferred and the 35 percent NBP earnings from the development of NBP, the excavation at NBP, and the entry of various prohibited items like beers, two-way radios, cellular telephones, and deadly weapons inside NBP.

Also, Bantag allegedly signed a memorandum of agreement with a savings bank for the grant of loans to BuCor personnel at “hefty interest rates.”

“Kailangan ayusin talaga ‘yung arrangement na yan kasi mukhang hindi ito favorable sa mga empleyado ng BuCor (We need to solve this arrangement because this seems not favorable to the BuCor employees),” Remulla said.

He said he has asked BuCor Officer-in-Charge Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. to write a letter to the DOJ “so we can examine the contract that was arrived at with the bank.”

TAGS: #DOJ #Remulla #Bantag #Bucor

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