BuCor to file raps vs Bantag over ‘illegal’ excavation inside Bilibid compound

FILE PHOTO: Suspended Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director Gerald Bantag. INQUIRER / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines — Suspended Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gerald Bantag faces a new charge related to an alleged illegal excavation at the New Bilibid Prison.

BuCor officer-in-charge Gregorio Catapang on Monday said the findings of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources showed that the excavation in the country’s main penitentiary, near the director general’s quarters, is “illegal.”

“So, given that meron nang findings, magfa-file po kami ng illegal excavation sa nakatira dito, kay Bantag,” Catapang told Teleradyo’s Kabayan.

(Given the findings, we will file illegal excavation against the person living here, Bantag.)

READ: DOJ: BuCor asks COA to audit anomalies in Bilibid excavation

“Kokonsulta po namin sa DOJ (Department of Justice) kung anong kaso po ito, saan isasampa,” he added.

(We will consult with the DOJ on what case we should lodge, and where to file it.)

Catapang has previously uncovered an excavation in the Bilibid facility that spans over four acres. At its deepest point, the dig went down around 30 meters.

Bantag asserted that he was planning to build the “deepest swimming pool in Metro Manila” as he and other BuCor personnel are scuba diving enthusiasts.

READ: Bantag’s ‘pool’ project in Bilibid surprises DOJ

Catapang said he would order personnel to cover the excavation area after the holiday break.

It was recently reported that Bantag — a respondent in the murder complaint over the killings of radio broadcaster Percy Lapid and the alleged middleman in the kill plot, Cristito “Jun Villamor” Palaña — will also face plunder charges for supposedly endorsing P300 million in unauthorized advance payments for incomplete prison projects.

READ: Plunder raps adding to Bantag’s legal woes

KGA/abc