(UPDATE) BuCor officer-in-charge named

MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has designated an officer-in-charge for the graft-tainted Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

On Friday, Guevarra named BuCor Deputy Director General for Security and Operations Melvin Ramon Buenafe as an interim overseer of the facility for the custody and rehabilitation of national offenders.

BuCor is an agency under the Department of Justice.

In Department Order No. 468, Guevarra said that aside from administering the day-to-day affairs at BuCor, Buenafe “is further authorized, subject to applicable laws, rules, and regulations, to effect permissible movements of BuCor personnel.”

Buenafe, the order further states, is also authorized “to adopt strict measures to ensure integrity and proper safekeeping of official records, particularly records of good conduct time allowance (GCTA) and other similar time credits.”

Buenafe’s assignment came after President Rodrigo Duterte sacked Nicanor Faeldon as BuCor chief on Wednesday night amid controversies surrounding the premature release of nearly 2,000 heinous crime convicts due to good behavior. /kga