Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 25) — Acting Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gregorio Catapang on Wednesday said they plan to soon file a plunder case against suspended BuCor chief Gerald Bantag regarding the questionable release of funds for the construction of prison facilities worth ₱1 billion.
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“Hopefully this Friday or early next week because you have to document this properly so that you have sufficient evidence to file a case against him,” Catapang told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
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He claimed they already have the evidence to prove that around ₱300 million was released even if the project was unfinished.
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Catapang said they will be meeting with Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) authorities on Wednesday to ask them how to go about the filing of a plunder case.
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The AMLC will also be tapped to look into the bank accounts of Bantag and his family members to know if there was a transfer in the released money, Catapang added.
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Meanwhile, more BuCor personnel and inmates are willing to testify regarding the abuse and torture they experienced during Bantag’s time as director general, Catapang said.
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He noted that there are up to two persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) who witnessed the death of their fellow inmate and they want to testify.
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The acting BuCor chief said there was indeed abuse of power during Bantag’s time.
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Catapang said at least 20 of Bantag’s people who occupied key positions in the bureau’s directorial staff and the prison penal colonies, eventually becoming a syndicate.
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“That’s why the mission of BuCor failed because you can just imagine the inmates were dying, they even forgot to bury them,” Catapang noted.
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“It is only now that these personnel who were tortured, maltreated by Bantag are talking because during those times, he ruled in a strong arm that nobody wanted to testify against him,” he added.
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