More charges await Bantag

Catapang said the complainants have been reassigned to the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan

The Bureau of Corrections on Tuesday disclosed that its suspended chief Gerald Bantag will be slapped with more criminal complaints from BuCor personnel who claimed they were “hurt and maltreated” by the embattled former chief.

BuCor acting director general Gregorio Catapang Jr. said that the personnel — whose identities remained withheld — will file complaints against Bantag on 20 January 2023.

He added that for the safety of the complainants, they have been reassigned to the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan and a lawyer has been sent to Palawan to secure the affidavits of the BuCor personnel who are all corrections officers.

Previously, Bantag was charged with two murder cases, and torture and physical injuries complaints before the Department of Justice for the deaths of radio commentator Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa and inmate Cristito Villamor Palana, the alleged middleman of self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial in the killing of the broadcaster.

The persons deprived of liberty — identified as Ronald Usman and Jonathan Escopete — filed the torture and physical injuries complaints against Bantag, saying that the former BuCor chief attacked them at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.

“Both complainants suffered serious physical injuries which required medical attention for one to two months for Usman and three to four weeks for Escopete,” the complaints stated.

Also, Catapang said that BuCor continues to gather evidence against Bantag for plunder in the P900 million project for the construction of three prison facilities, adding that witnesses have surfaced and expressed their willingness to testify.

“They are about to make the statement. They were just forced to change the details to say that there was already 95 percent completion. But up to now the project is not yet finished,” Catapang said.

He added that contractors of the project will also testify.

“The contractors are willing to submit themselves to an investigation and pay damages for not being able to complete the project even if they were saying that it was already 95 percent,” Catapang said.

However, the acting BuCor chief stressed that the contractors can be held liable and will face criminal complaints as BuCor officials who inspected the project reported that “not more than 60 percent has been completed in the project.