Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 14) – The Bureau of Correction (BuCor) has filed complaints of torture and infliction of serious physical injury against its former chief Gerald Bantag.
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The complaints were filed on behalf of two persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) identified by their aliases Luis and Rodel.
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A complaint of obstruction of justice was also filed against Bantag’s right-hand man, former deputy security officer Ricardo Zulueta.
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The two PDLs claimed that Bantag had stabbed one of them in the right palm and the other in the left thigh with a kris dagger in a fit of drunken rage in February last year.
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READ: 2 inmates to file charges vs. Bantag for allegedly stabbing them
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Both Bantag and Zulueta were earlier charged with murder over the deaths of radio broadcaster Percy Lapid and PDL Cristito Villamor Palana, who was pinpointed by self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial as his “middleman” in the killing of Lapid.
Both murder complaints are still under preliminary investigation by state prosecutors.
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Zulueta, who was present during the alleged torture incident, reportedly did not stop Bantag from stabbing the inmates.
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He also supposedly offered the two inmates ₱50,000 in hush money, and warned that something bad might happen to them if they did not accept it.
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Based on the affidavit, the two accepted the money after coercion and used it to tend to their injuries. The duo are serving their sentences at the New Bilibid Prison.
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The BuCor also filed administrative cases of grave misconduct against Bantag and Zulueta, stemming from the complaints made by the two PDLs.
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Earlier, BuCor Officer-in-Charge Gregorio Catapang also said he would file complaints of torture and human rights violations against Bantag and Zulueta.
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READ: Catapang to file charges vs. Bantag on alleged torture of inmates
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