President Bongbong Marcos has ordered the suspension of Bureau of Corrections Director General Gerald Bantag following the killing of the alleged middleman on the killing of radio broadcaster Percy Lapid.
Justice Secretary Boying Remulla said that the order came after the self-confessed gunman in the Lapid case pointed to an alleged middleman inside the New Bilibid Prison.
The Bilibid Prison is under the Bureau of Corrections managed by Bantag.
Remulla said former AFP Chief of Staff Gregorio Catapang has been appointed as the officer-in-charge of BuCor.
In a press briefing, Remulla said that the police went to Bilibid to inquire about Crisanto Palana Villamor, the supposed middleman in the plot to kill Lapid.
Remulla said that the police were told there was no such individual in the facility: The answer of Bilibid was there’s no person by that name in Bilibid.
Remulla says it appears that the alleged middleman’s name in the records of Bilibid is “Jun Villamor y Globa”.
Remulla said the other middleman is now under the custody of the Philippine National Police.
“He is already in custody of the PNP, in the custodial center. I think he will be okay. I have no doubt okay siya,” he said.
“Sayang lang, if I was informed that we had to secure somebody inside Bilibid, that could have been done very early,” the justice chief added.
