Marcos orders sacking of prison chief
Remulla said Bantag’s suspension and replacement at BuCor by former Armed Forces chief Gregorio Catapang Jr. was intended by Marcos to give way to an impartial probe on Villamor’s death.
Daily TribuneRemulla said Bantag’s suspension and replacement at BuCor by former Armed Forces chief Gregorio Catapang Jr. was intended by Marcos to give way to an impartial probe on Villamor’s death.
Department of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla held a press conference on the preventive suspension of Gerald Bantag without pay for the period of 90 days pending the conduct of formal investigations on 21 October 2022. | PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB DUNGO JR. FOR THE DAILY TRIBUNE @tribunephl_bob
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has taken a direct interest in the murder of broadcaster Percival "Percy Lapid" Mabasa as he ordered the relief of Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said yesterday.
Bantag's suspension came as Roy Mabasa, the journalist-brother of the hard-hitting commentator shot dead last 3 October, earlier expressed dismay over what he said to be the President's seeming lack of interest in the case.
JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla's terse, some say 'strongly-worded,' suspension order. | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF DOJ
Marcos ordered Bantag's removal from his post following the death last 18 October of one Crisanto Palana Villamor inside the BuCor-managed New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.
Villamor, also named Jun Villamor Y Globa and Jun Villamor Y Garcia in various reports, was declared dead on arrival at the NBP Hospital at about 2 p.m. last Tuesday, just hours after being tagged by self-proclaimed hitman Joel Escorial as the one who set up the hit on Mabasa.
Remulla said Bantag's suspension and replacement at BuCor by former Armed Forces chief Gregorio Catapang Jr. was intended by Marcos to give way to an impartial probe on Villamor's death.
"Upon orders of the President, you are hereby placed under preventive suspension without pay for a period of 90 days, effective immediately upon your receipt hereof," Remulla's order read.
The tone of the order seemed to suggest that both the President and Remulla found it too much of a coincidence that Villamor died just hours after Escorial was presented in a press conference by the police.
Remulla said the police have already secured the safety of another NBP inmate, a cousin of Villamor, Jose Palana Villamor, as he may know something about the contract killing.
Under fire Gerald Bantag, declared a persona non grata in Muntinlupa City over roadway dispute at the New Bilibid Prison reservation, is suspended by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as Bureau of Corrections chief. | file photo
Harebrained idea
Former presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo, in his 21 October 2022 Daily Tribune column, slammed the "harebrained idea" of presenting Escorial to the public by "eager-beaver" officials.
Remulla's one-page order suspending Bantag was issued to "preclude the possibility of exerting efforts, undue influence or pressure on the witnesses against you, or tampering of documentary evidence on file with your office."
In one of the last broadcasts of Mabasa, uploaded on social media on 6 September this year, he asked Remulla to investigate an official in an agency under the DoJ for allegedly amassing unexplained wealth after his appointment in the previous administration.
In that show, Mabasa showed a video supposedly taken inside an exclusive subdivision in Laguna. Mabasa said the parked vehicles in front of a huge house in the village — 11 in all — were owned by the official he wanted Remulla to investigate.
Meanwhile, BuCor spokesperson Gabriel Chaclag has maintained they have no record of a detainee by the name of Crisanto Villamor at the NBP.
However, Remulla brushed aside the discrepancies on Villamor's many names, saying they would eventually be reconciled when the documents of BuCor and the DoJ are looked into.
Autopsy result
Villamor's body was subjected to an autopsy by the National Bureau of Investigation, like the BuCor an agency under Remulla's DoJ on Thursday. The result was yet to be released at press time Friday.
However, Chaclag maintained that based on their initial inspection of Villamor's body, there were "no signs of physical external injuries which probably indicates a natural cause of death or no signs of foul play."
The safety of a purported second "middleman," identified as Christopher Bacoto, has also been secured following the death of Villamor, Southern Police District chief P/Brig. Gen. Kirby John Kraft, said Thursday.
According to reports, Bacoto helped facilitate the payment of P550,000 to Escorial's group even while detained under the supervision of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
The BuCor under the DoJ manages jail facilities for convicts, while the BJMP under the Department of the Interior and Local Government oversees detention centers for those in jail during the pendency of their trials.
Second middleman
According to a DoJ timeline, Escorial surrendered on 17 October out of fear for his life after his picture was made public and the reward money offered leading to his identification was increased from P500,000 on 5 October to P6.5 million on 16 October.
Wearing a flak jacket and ballistic helmet, the 38-year-old Escorial was presented to the media by the authorities a day after his surrender.
Escorial said the hit on Mabasa was undertaken, with him doing the shooting, and a group of three men, Orly, the driver of the motorcycle used in the attack; and brothers Israel and Edmon Dimaculangan serving as lookouts.
In all, six men were involved, Escorial said — himself, the two middlemen, Orly and the two Dimaculangan brothers. Escorial said he had a share of P140,000 from the hit, from the P550,000 deposited in tranche to his bank account.
The second "middleman," as the purported bagman, may also be privy to the identity of the mastermind, police sources told Daily Tribune. Investigators have sought the help of the Anti-Money Laundering Council to shed light on the payment paper trail made through the banks.
Escorial was said to have identified Villamor through a photo as the first "middleman" with whom he talked over the phone to set up the killing of Mabasa as he was driving home to Las Piñas City.
Convinced
After initially doubting Escorial as the "killer," the Mabasa family, again through Roy, expressed belief the self-proclaimed gunman was who he said he was after a walk-through at the crime scene along Aria Street in Barangay Talon Dos.
Murder charges had been filed before the DoJ against Escorial, Orly and the Dimaculangans. Villamor and Bacoto, however, were not included in the original complaint.
Chaclag said that based on BuCor records, the inmate who died at the NBP was registered as "Jun Villamor Y Globa."
"That's the person deprived of liberty who died," Chaclag said in a mix of Filipino and English. "We really do not have a record on Crisanto Villamor."
"Perhaps it would be better to ask the police if this is the one they are looking for because they are asking for a Crisanto," he added.