3 BuCor officials sacked for bribery in GCTA mess

Ombudsman Samuel Martires on Wednesday ordered the dismissal of three Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officials accused of extorting some P50,000 from the wife of a New Bilibid Prison (NBP) inmate in exchange for his early release.

Dismissed from public office were former BuCor documentations chief Ramoncito Roque, Correctional Senior Insp. Maria Belinda Bansil and Corrections Officer 3 Veronica Buño.

All three were earlier suspended in connection with the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) scandal that allegedly saw inmates released early in exchange for a fee.

They were also ordered indicted for direct bribery and graft, with the charges to be filed before the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court.

Aside from being dismissed, the three officials were also perpetually disqualified from holding public office, and stripped of their retirement benefits and civil service eligibility.The case stemmed from whistleblower Yolanda Camilon’s testimony during the Senate hearing on the GCTA, where she revealed that Roque, Bansil and Buño had extorted a total of P50,000 from her in exchange for the early release of her husband. Despite the payout, her husband stayed in prison.

The GCTA controversy, which saw the dismissal of BuCor chief Nicanor Faeldon, also resulted in the suspension of 30 other BuCor officials.

While Sen. Richard Gordon welcomed the Ombudsman’s decision, he said the antigraft body should also pursue charges against Faeldon and other senior corrections officials, including the BuCor doctors “who were receiving bribe money to help convicts get out (of prison). —WITH A REPORT FROM MARLON RAMOS