Bantag: I won’t shave my beard until BuCor issues addressed

MANILA, Philippines — Newly-appointed Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag on Monday said he would not shave his beard until issues within the bureau had been addressed.

“For me, my beard serves as a mark that as long as it is there, problems within BuCor have not been addressed. Once it’s gone, it’s already OK,” Bantag, speaking in Filipino, said in an interview with AM radio station DZMM.

Bantag replaced former BuCor Director General Nicanor Faeldon whom President Rodrigo Duterte dismissed amid controversies surrounding the implementation of the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) law that allowed the release of over nearly 2,000 heinous crime convicts.

Bantag said he started his job at BuCor three days ago, adding that a briefing was supposed to take place but was canceled due to technical difficulties.

“The briefing was canceled so we just talked. I also gave guidance to key BuCor staff,” he said.

The new BuCor chief admitted that he had not yet to made the rounds of the maximum security prison as he would want to focus first on internal management.

/atm