Former AFP Chief of Staff Gregorio Catapang Jr. takes his oath before Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla. He replaced BuCor Director General Gerald Bantag, who was slapped with a 90-day preventive suspension. Photo courtesy of the Office of the Justice Secretary
Major BuCor ‘revamp’ looms
A MAJOR “revamp” in the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) is now in the offing following the preventive suspension of Director General Gerald Bantag over the mystery-shrouded death of the “middleman” in the Percy Lapid slay.
This, as BuCor spokesperson Gabriel Chaclag on Monday bid farewell to reporters covering the justice beat. BuCor is an attached agency of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“We will be reorganizing the structure here in BuCor, including the Office of the Spokesperson. This will be my last pronouncement on this VG. Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat. [Please] support the new BuCor leadership and whoever will be the designated spokesperson. God bless you all,” Chaclag said.
Meanwhile, former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gregorio Catapang Jr. on Monday formally took his oath as Officer-In-Charge (OIC) of BuCor before Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla at the DOJ main office in Manila.
Catapang will be taking the BuCor’s helm from Bantag, who was preventively suspended for 90 days.
His appointment was contained in Department Order (DO) No. 576, signed by Remulla.
It can be recalled that self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial upon his surrender, claimed that the “order to assassinate” Lapid came inside the walls of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa.
According to him, they were six of them originally to do the hit and were paid a total of P550,000.
