Catapang: ‘Wag kukurap sa kurapsyon’
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla is planning to expedite the release of 5,000 inmates from penitentiaries overseen by BuCor, including at the NBP
Daily TribuneJustice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla is planning to expedite the release of 5,000 inmates from penitentiaries overseen by BuCor, including at the NBP
Photo by Joey Sanchez Mendoza
Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. yesterday warned officials and personnel under him to remain true to their calling and not to succumb to corruption.
Catapang said that he fought for long-serving BuCor officials to remain in their posts or for those removed to be reinstated because he believes in their capabilities to run the bureau.
He urged the public not to lose faith in BuCor amid the controversies that swirled around it following the tagging of his predecessor, Gerald Bantag, as the alleged mastermind in the killing of broadcaster Percival "Percy Lapid" Mabasa on 3 October and alleged middleman Cristito "Jun Villamor" Palaña 15 days later.
A former Armed Forces chief, Catapang said he asked BuCor officials and personnel "not to blink" or wag kukurap in the face of attempts to corrupt them. Aside from the Mabasa and Palaña murder cases, Bantag had been pilloried over the unauthorized digging at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.
Palaña, an inmate at NBP, was the alleged contact of the self-confessed gunman in the killing of Mabasa, Joel Escorial.
First identified as Villamor, Palaña, an autopsy showed, was killed on 18 October hours after Escorial pointed at him during a press conference as the middleman, or the one who asked him to kill Mabasa.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla is planning to expedite the release of 5,000 inmates from penitentiaries overseen by BuCor, including at the NBP.
On 5 December, about 500 new corrections officers would be joining BuCor after taking their oath on the said day.
The new jail officers are part of the 1,000 uniformed and 133 non-uniformed personnel expected to be hired by BuCor by the end of 2022.
BuCor said those who are to take their oaths this week should submit the results of their neuropsychiatric and medical examinations, letter of intent, personal data sheet, authenticated copy of eligibility, transcript of records, diploma, birth certificate, marriage certificate, birth certificate of child, National Bureau of Investigation clearance, police clearance, individual performance and commitment review and service record, if the applicant comes from the government.
Also required, if applicable based on ethnicity, are certificates of confirmation from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples or from the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos.
BuCor officers are tasked to keep order for those serving their sentences in seven national penitentiaries, namely, NBP, Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City; Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan; Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro; San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City; Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog, Leyte; and the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Panabo, Davao Province.