BuCor Chief Suspended Over Middleman’s Death

Upon orders of President Marcos, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has suspended “indefinitely” the chief of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) following the death of an inmate and alleged middleman in the killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Oct. 21, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said BuCor director general Gerald Bantag was placed under preventive suspension to ensure an impartial investigation into the death of one of the inmates who supposedly facilitated the hit on Lapid – also known as Percival Mabasa – earlier this month.

“I went to the President to tell him about this. He asked me to preventively suspend Undersecretary Bantag of BuCor so that there may be a fair, impartial investigation on the matter,” Remulla said.

While Civil Service Commission regulations provide that preventive suspensions may only last for 90 days, Remulla may opt to ask the Office of the President to extend the suspension.

“That’s indefinite, of course. Indefinite. We cannot have a definite preventive suspension. It’s indefinite, as long as the investigation is there, as long as there are findings. Then let’s put the matter to rest,” Remulla added.

With Bantag – a Duterte appointee – suspended, Marcos appointed a temporary replacement, retired Gen. Gregorio Catapang Jr., who served during the second Aquino administration as Armed Forces chief of staff.

The inmate, identified by police investigators as Crisanto Villamor Jr., was pronounced dead at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) hospital on Tuesday after losing consciousness, just hours af-ter the surrender of self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial.

Authorities said there was another “middleman” in the Lapid killing, reportedly under the custody of the Bureau of Jail management and Penology (BJMP).

While Villamor’s record showed three different names, Remulla said they had to “reconcile” the records with his age, cases, his record at the BJMP, Philippine National Police (PNP) and BuCor.

“No, we just have to reconcile. It’s really just reconciling the records. That’s the only way you can do it. It’s like securing a clearance at the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), we have to make an affidavit that we are one and the same person,” he added.

Second middleman

Brig. Gen. Kirby John Kraft, Southern Police District (SPD) director, said the other middleman identified as Christopher Bacoto specifically ordered Escorial to kill Lapid. Bacoto is under BJMP custody on drug charges.

“According to the gunman, Bacoto also called him to carry out the crime,” Kraft said in Filipino in an interview with One Balita Pilipinas.

Kraft, who heads the special investigation task group probing Lapid’s killing, said investigators have already talked with Bacoto but have yet to secure a written statement from him. “I can’t give details, but we’ve already talked to Bacoto,” he said.

Kraft also revealed BuCor came out with a certificate confirming that there was no Crisanto Villamor Jr. among inmates at the NBP.

Col. Redrico Maranan, the PNP’s public information officer, confirmed that a person who may have information on Lapid’s murder had already been transferred from the NBP to another location. He did not elaborate.

“Round the clock security is being afforded to him. Other details cannot be divulged due to security considerations,” he told reporters on Viber.

With the death of one of the middlemen, police have tightened security around Escorial.

“I have directed the PNP to firmly secure Joel Escorial in the wake of the tragedy that befell his contact in Bilibid. Let’s make sure he is secure because his safety is key to resolving this case,” Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said in a statement.

He said the suspicious death of Villamor may have set back the progress of the investigation but authorities are determined to get to the bottom of the case.

“What happened was frustrating. We are really angry. There is an ongoing autopsy and if foul play is established, anyone found responsible will pay,” Abalos said in Filipino.

NBP records showed Villamor was convicted of attempted murder, murder and violation of the election gun ban by a Tagaytay City court.

BuCor deputy director general for administration Gabriel Chaclag said Villamor’s remains showed no signs of foul play.

A forensic team from the NBI conducted an autopsy on Thursday, Oct. 20, on Villamor’s remains at the Eastern Funeral Service in Muntinlupa City.

“Tissue samples were collected from the body for histopathology and general toxicology examinations,” NBI spokesperson Gisele Garcia Dumlao told The STAR. The NBI has yet to release the result of the autopsy.

Chaclag also revealed they have secured Villamor’s cousin, Jose Villamor, who is also an inmate at the NBP.

“In coordination with the PNP, ’yung Jose Villamor ay secured po ’yun,” Chaclag said in an interview over ABS-CBN.

PNP officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia clarified Jose Villamor is a possible witness and not a suspect.

Sermonia also said they would try to establish if the Villamor who died at the NBP was the same person Escorial was referring to as his contact.

Police are also keeping close tabs on siblings Edmon and Israel Dimaculangan, two other suspects in Lapid’s killing, according to Kraft.

“We were receiving reports that they have been sighted,” Kraft said in Filipino over dzBB. He said the two were spotted outside Metro Manila. He declined to share more details.

Appeal to Marcos

Meanwhile, Lapid’s brother Roy Mabasa urged President Marcos to exert effort to ensure the killing is properly investigated. He made the appeal in the wake of Villamor’s death while sup-posedly in detention.

Stressing that the middleman’s death is a big shame to the government, Mabasa pleaded with Marcos to take a tougher stance on the issue.

“The President should be on top of the investigation; his voice is very important at this time,” he told “The Chiefs” in Filipino over Cignal TV’s One News on Thursday night, Oct. 20.

Mabasa lamented that Marcos has never made public pronouncements about his brother’s killing.

Mabasa said the second middleman appears to be the one who gave the money.

In a separate interview over GMA News “Unang Balita,” Mabasa said Escorial has agreed to open his bank accounts to help in the investigation.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III, for his part, said agencies involved in the investigation must get their act together and ensure transparency.

Pimentel called on Abalos “to tell the people through the media what has been happening” in the investigation.

“I myself am getting confused with what the PNP and the DOJ are saying,” Pimentel said, adding that the confessed gunman mentioned a “middleman” from the BuCor, and not the BJMP. “The PNP has to sort this out in a very transparent way,” he said. – With additional reports from Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Paolo Romero