Former Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag and several others have been separately charged with two counts of murder for the deaths of broadcaster Percy Lapid and middleman Jun Villamor.

This was confirmed by Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento on Wednesday.

In a separate message, the filing of the criminal information was also confirmed by Justice Assistant Secretary and concurrent spokesperson Atty. Mico Clavano.

The criminal information was filed with the appropriate courts, including the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court on 13 March for the murder of Villamor and the Las Piñas City Regional Trial Court on 14 March for the Lapid case.

Filing of criminal information in two courts vs Bantag, several others confirmed.

Prosecutors of the DoJ handling the cases indicted Bantag, former Deputy Security Officer Ricardo Zulueta, and several others after probable cause was established during a preliminary investigation.

The Department of Justice will charge various individuals for Lapid’s murder, including Bantag, Zulueta, Joel Escorial, Israel Dimaculangan, Edmon Dimaculangan and Alias Orly/Orlando.

Other individuals facing charges for Villamor’s death are Bantag, Zulueta, Alvin Labra, Aldrin Galicia, Mario Alvarez, Joseph Georfo, Christian Ramac, Ricky Salgado, Ronnie de la Cruz and Joel Reyes.

The DoJ stressed that circumstantial evidence was sufficient to establish Bantag as the mastermind behind the assassination of Percy.

The former BuCor Chief is also facing other charges, that include alleged unauthorized digging in the NBP, torture and physical injury charges lodged by inmates and jail guards.