Año: Corrupt BuCor execs won’t easily operate under Bantag’s watch

MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Eduardo Año believes corrupt officials and personnel at the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) will not be able to easily carry out their illegal activities under the watch of its newly-installed chief Gerald Bantag.

Año said Bantag, having served as warden of major city jails in Metro Manila and eventually as regional director of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Mimaropa (Mindoro, Mainduque, Romblon, and Palawan), “has the professional experience, training, and competence needed in leading the BuCor.

READ: Duterte names ex-Manila City Jail warden as new BuCor boss

“Sa tingin ko, mahihirapan siyang paikutan ng mga ilang tiwali sa BuCor dahil alam na niya ang mga sistema at kalakaran sa ating mga kulungan (I think corrupt Bucor personnel will not easily roam around the agency because Bantag already knows the system in jails),” Año said in a statement.

“He brings with him the leadership skills and core values he learned in the BJMP which is a large and professional uniformed service of the DILG,” he added. BJMP is an attached agency of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

According to Año, the designation of an official from the BJMP to head the BuCor is a “positive development for our country.”

He said the appointment of Bantag, who President Rodrigo Duterte designated as BuCor chief after firing Nicanor Faeldon, should be the beginning of real reforms the Filipino people has beem waiting for, and  that justice be served and the integrity of the penal system  be maintained.

“I urge Bantag to judiciously exercise his mandate and inculcate into his new assignment the professional culture of the DILG,” Año said.

“Remember, you are not only accountable to the President but the entire Filipino people who are shocked and disappointed by the irregularities in the BuCor. In the hands of the right people, the problems of the BuCor are not insurmountable. As always, the BJMP and the DILG are ready to support you in your enormous responsibility,” he added.  /muf