Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Monday said retired Armed Forces chief Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. will soon be appointed as director-general of the Bureau of Corrections (Bucor), replacing the agency’s suspended boss, Gerald Bantag.
Interviewed by reporters at BuCor’s office in Muntinlupa City, Remulla said Catapang’s appointment papers may be released in “a matter of hours” or at the Cabinet meeting today, on Tuesday.
Catapang was appointed as officer-in-charge of the BuCor after Bantag was placed under preventive suspension in October 2022 pending investigation of his alleged involvement in the killing of veteran broadcaster Percival Mabasa a.k.a. Percy Lapid and alleged middleman in the latter’s killing, was identified as Jun Villamor, an inmate at the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP).
Remulla said Catapang’s appointment was discussed with Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Saturday, following the arrival of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. from Davos, Switzerland.
Asked why it took several months before the President officially appointed Catapang as BuCor chief, Remulla said: “That’s how it should be. We are not in the business of just replacing people just like that. We have to study everything and wait for the developments to come in for us to really be sure of what we are doing. We need to assess everything.”
Bantag was suspended for 90 days in October last year while being investigated for the deaths of Mabasa and Villamor.
Last week, Remulla meted another 90-day preventive suspension against Bantag pending the Department of Justice investigation on the March 30, 2021 interview conducted by the Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) with former Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan inside the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.
Remulla said the suspension was intended to prevent Bantag from “exerting undue influence or pressure on the witnesses” or “tampering of documentary evidence” pending his administrative investigation for the charges of grave misconduct and neglect in the performance of duty.”
Palparan is serving his jail sentence of 40 years in connection with the disappearance of two University of the Philippines students in 2006.
The DOJ said the said media interview was conducted without complying with the bureau’s rules.
Remulla, who inspected the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City to investigate complaints of untreated diseases and malnutrition, said several contractors have already expressed interest in providing food at the NBP.
“Malnutrition is really an endemic problem here and that’s why their coping mechanisms give way to crime,” Remulla said.
The new BuCor chief, meanwhile, said he is considering filing charges against the people responsible for the excavation at the NBP.
Bantag previously admitted he was the one who ordered the excavation inside the NBP for a deep swimming pool because he is a “master scuba diver.”
In December 2022, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources declared the excavation to be illegal quarrying.
Previously asked if Bantag may face charges for the excavation, Catapang had said it is possible.
The BuCor on Monday said 340 inmates were released from operating prisons and penal farms.
Based on BuCor data, 128 were released on parole, while 165 had served their maximum sentence with good conduct and time allowance (GCTA).
Thirty-five who also served their sentence with GCTA were released under Department Order No. 953. The order states that the release of inmates sentenced to life imprisonment or high-risk inmates shall only be implemented with the approval of the Justice secretary.