(Eagle News)–The Palace on Wednesday, Sept. 18, defended President Rodrigo Duterte’s appointment of Gerald Bantag as the new Bureau of Corrections director-general even if he is facing criminal charges.
In an interview over GMA-7’s Unang Balita, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the charges against Bantag over the death of 10 inmates in an explosion at the Parañaque City Jail in August 2016 were a non-issue since he has not been convicted.
The explosion took place as inmates asked to meet with Bantag, then the jail warden, after learning that they would be transferred to another cell.
“The constitutional presumption of innocence applies to him, so hindi mo sasabihin na siya ay isang kriminal,” Panelo said.
Bantag, who was the Mimaropa director of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, was also the subject of a complaint by several inmates at the Manila City Jail when he was jail warden there.
The inmates, who held a noise barrage to oust him in October 2016, were opposed to Bantag’s move to segregate drug offenders.
The BJMP then defended Bantag’s move, saying the segregation would allow for the drug offenders to have proper interventions such as therapy programs, physical fitness programs, counseling and spiritual enhancement activities.
The Palace has said Bantag was appointed based on his “professional competence and honesty.”
“The Palace is behind the President’s decision and is confident that DG Bantag will continue the Administration’s campaign against corruption as he spearheads reform initiatives in the Bureau,” the Palace said.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the President has “total discretion and absolute prerogative in the appointment of the BuCor director general.”
