Suspended BuCor chief facing ‘biggest’ fight of his life

DEPARTMENT of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Wednesday called on suspended Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag and several others to file their counter-affidavits and refute the charges filed against them in connection with the Percy Lapid slay and the subsequent death of middleman Jun Villamor.

“Ang ano ko lang sa kanila, sana, sumagot sila ng counter-affidavit, huwag sila sa media sasagot. Mag-counter-affidavit sila. Yan ang proseso ng batas natin eh. Igalang nila ang batas. Alagad sila ng batas tapos ganyan sila magsalita ‘di ba? Walang drama-drama.”

“Face it like a man. If you cannot face it, then what are you? Face it. Ang dami-daming drama eh,” Remulla said in a chance interview.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday filed two cases of murder against Bantag and several others that included gang leaders tagged in the sensational twin deaths.

The filing of the cases came to the fore after the NBI and PNP secured persons of interest (POIs) – who are mostly persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) – that provided essential information about the twin killings.

Remulla said that evidence provided by witnesses has pointed to Bantag as the alleged mastermind behind the deaths of Lapid and Villamor.

“The principle that we adopted here in charging the mastermind is the totality of all the facts given to us by all the witnesses and all the circumstances attendant to the killing. So it’s a totality test.

It’s not for us to point out the direct link, but the totality of all the acts points out to the participation of and responsibility of those being charged,” Remulla said.

‘From hero to heel?’

That aptly describes the former BuCor director general who is now facing the greatest battle of his life, charged with ordering the murder of a radioman and a Bilibid inmate who may spill the beans on him.

The worst of his fears is that he is also facing the prospect of being jailed for life in a sprawling prison facility for hardened criminals, which he ruled with an “iron fist” for three years.

‘But who really is Bantag?’

For many graduates of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) and his supporters from the Cordillera region, the beleaguered ex-BuCor chief is a proud Igorot who “has the balls” to do the job and do it well.

Many have even described him as a “man of integrity” who had the trust and confidence of former President Rodrigo Duterte, the tough-talking former Davao City mayor who launched a bloody “war on drugs” starting in 2016 and appointed Bantag as BuCor chief with the rank of Director General.

Who would forget that scene when Bantag, armed with his two Samurai swords and a submachine gun, announced his intention to “clean up” the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) of all illegal activities involving rogue prison guards and high-profile inmates lording it up at the national penitentiary?

Last week, supporters of Bantag held a rally in Baguio City to air their support for him. One of those who attended the program, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong, said, “I know Gerald—so much is ailing his heart because of these accusations, especially when those charges are not true.”

Mayor Magalong, however, urged Bantag’s supporters to maintain their calm and sobriety and “look at things objectively.”

President Duterte, in September 2019, handpicked Bantag, a member of PNPA Class 1996, to replace then BuCor chief Nicanor Faeldon amid the controversy generated by the premature release of convicted criminals under the so-called Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.

Obviously, Bantag then was on his way to surpassing life’s major challenges.

Nearly four months after he took over the reins of the BuCor, Bantag and his co-accused in a case of ten counts of homicide for a 2016 grenade blast at the Parañaque City Jail that killed ten inmates were acquitted by a Parañaque City Regional Trial Court.

One of his co-accused then, Senior Jail Officer 2 Ricardo Zulueta, is also now his co-accused in the murder of radioman Percy Lapid and NBP inmate Cristito Villamor Palaña, the man identified as a “middleman” in the killing of the broadcaster.

“After thorough perusal of the records and the pieces of evidence presented by the prosecution, this Court finds the pieces of evidence to be insufficient to warrant the conviction of all the accused beyond reasonable doubt,” read the court’s decision as it dismissed the case against Bantag, Zulueta, and Jail Officer 2 Victor Erick Pascua.

Bantag actually gained national fame when the grenade explosions inside the Parañaque City Jail took place on August 11, 2016 when he was its warden. Two of the ten grenade casualties were jailed Chinese drug traffickers.

During the court trial, Pascua testified that after arriving from an event in Quezon City, Zulueta informed Bantag that several inmates wanted to talk to him about jail conditions.

The jail guard said that after fetching the inmates from their cells, they were taken to Bantag’s office before he and Zulueta went outside.

Bantag said he told the inmates to wait while he proceeded to the lavatory to brush his teeth. While inside, he said he heard a fizzing sound and saw gunshots on the wall prompting him to take his firearm to defend himself.

He said that he also saw one inmate holding something which was about to be thrown at him, so he fired at the inmate. The material turned out to be a grenade which eventually exploded.

Bantag was hospitalized as a result of the explosion that killed ten inmates, eight of them facing drug-related cases. The two others were in jail for robbery and homicide.

Interestingly, the case against Bantag and his two men was dismissed for “lack of evidence.”

The Parañaque City court even said that Bantag can refuse to testify but opted to tell the courtroom what happened.

“There is no showing that he had the intention to kill the victims but merely acted in self-defense upon believing in good faith that he was being fired upon by the inmates and one of the inmates was about to throw an unknown object at him which was later confirmed to be a fragmentation grenade,” the court said.

The court likewise said that the prosecution failed to rebut Bantag’s testimony.

During the trial of the case, Zulueta testified that he did not fire his service firearm, while Pascua said he only fired his service firearm when he heard Bantag shout for help.

The court said Pascua was only performing his duty when he fired back at the inmates. It added that there is no evidence that the three – Bantag, Pascua, and Zulueta conspired to kill the ten inmates.

A police report said that the grenade explosion happened amid an attempted jailbreak that went awry.

Before he got involved in the controversial grenade explosion at the Parañaque City Jail, Bantag also served as warden of the Valenzuela, Navotas, Malabon, and Manila city jails. He also was once a regional director of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Region 4-B in Mimaropa region.

After taking over BuCor, Bantag, with the help of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) then, headed by Major General Debold M. Sinas, launched an effort to demolish all illegal structures or “kubols” inside NBP.

In November 2021, he got into a rift with the Muntinlupa City local government over the alleged illegal erection of walls around the NBP, which blocked access to some local residents, and the destruction and eviction of informal settlers from the compound.

Shortly after he was replaced as BuCor chief by former Armed Forces chief, now retired General Gregorio Catapang Jr., the latter launched an operation inside the sprawling prison compound which led to the seizure of over 7,500 beer in cans which he said are being sold at P1,000 each.

Bantag later told a radio interview that he would not allow himself to be jailed. “Just kill me because I know what will happen to me inside the jail. I am not like other senators, big-time personalities who could be protected. And if they say I am their target? This government and I should just kill each other,” he said.

‘Azurin orders men to locate Bantag, aide’

PNP Chief Gen. Rodolfo S. Azurin Jr. on Wednesday said their tracker teams are all ready to locate Bantag and his co-accused in a double murder case should the court order their arrest.

The top cop said Bantag and Senior Jail Officer 2 Ricardo Zulueta – promoted to the rank of Corrections Senior Superintendent by the latter – won’t be having a “good time sleeping” once a warrant for their arrest is issued by the court in connection with the killing of radioman Percy Lapid and alleged murder “middleman” Jun Villamor.

In the absence of any court order to arrest the two, Azurin, however, said that the two will be placed under strict monitoring.

“In the event that a warrant of arrest is issued, there will definitely be tracker teams to look for them. So far now, we are just monitoring. We are just validating information where they are,” the PNP chief told newsmen after he led the blessing and inauguration of the newly-constructed PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group building in Camp Crame.

At present, members of the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Lapid under National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Director Brig. Gen. Jonnel C. Estomo is still tracking down three suspects in the assassination of Lapid.

The three were identified as brothers Israel and Edmon Dimaculangan and a certain “Orlando.”

The three were named by confessed gunman Joel Escorial who surrendered to the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group headed by Brig. Gen. Ronald O. Lee was immediately turned over to the SITG Lapid.

“Since the case has been filed, we have yet to wait for the determination of prima facie evidence by the Prosecutor’s Office,” Azurin said, even as he reiterated his offer of security for Bantag whose security details and service vehicles have already been recalled by BuCor Officer-in-Charge, retired Armed Forces chief, Gen. Gregorio Catapang. By Hector Lawas and Alfred Dalizon