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(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered a total revamp at the Bureau of Corrections. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the revelation on Wednesday, Sept. 18, a day after Duterte appointed Gerald Bantag at the helm of the agency hounded by corruption issues. According to Panelo, the revamp involves the transfer of personnel from the provinces to Metro Manila. Panelo said the President made the decision to put a stop to corruption. Announcement of the revamp […]
(Eagle News)–The three resource persons who were cited in contempt by a Senate panel probing the problems in the. Bureau of Corrections have sought the help of the Court of Appeals and filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. In filing the petition on Wednesday, Sept. 18, Ramoncito Roque, Fredric Anthony Santos and Ursicio Cenas said the blue ribbon committee violated their right to due process when it supposedly did not give them […]
(Eagle News)–Clean up the Good Conduct Time Allowance law mess, implement full computerization, and stop the illegal drug trade in prison. These were the marching orders, in order of priority, of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra to newly appointed Bureau of Corrections director-general Gerald Bantag, whom he met for the first time on Wednesday, Sept. 18. The meeting took place a day after Bantag was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to the post left vacated by […]
(Eagle News)–The Bureau of Corrections has a new director-general. President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Gerald Bantag to the post left vacant by Nicanor Faeldon, who was sacked by the chief executive over the Good Conduct Time Allowance law mess. The Palace said Bantag, a former Manila jail warden, 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 […]
(Eagle News)–Senator Leila de Lima on Monday, Sept. 16, called for “sweeping reforms” in the country’s prison system amid the mess at the Bureau of Corrections. In filing SB No. 181, De Lima sought to integrate the management of the Bureau of Corrections, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and of provincial jail services under one agency, the National Commission on Corrections and Jail Management. She said the agency shall “serve as central authority […]
(Eagle News)–The recommended revised implementing rules and regulations of the Good Conduct Time Allowance law now include a specific definition of heinous crimes to avoid any other interpretation of the terms. According to Justice spokesperson Markk Perete, who gave a radio interview on Sunday, Sept. 15, apart from the definition, the IRR revised by a joint Department of Justice and Department of the Interior and Local Government panel, and which have been submitted to Justice […]
(Eagle News)–Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon has expressed support for an amendment to Republic Act No. 10575, or the Bureau of Corrections Act of 2013, to allow the Department of Justice to have direct control and supervision over BuCor. In supporting Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra’s proposal, Drilon noted there were “a number of critical agencies over which the department has limited to zero control.” He said apart from the BuCor, these were the Public Attorneys […]
https://youtu.be/x3htSbQgS1k (Eagle News) – In this report by Eagle News Service reporter Meanne Corvera, various witnesses detailed the various money-making schemes at the Bureau of Corrections in Muntinlupa City. In the fifth hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon and Justice Committee, former Bucor officer-in-charge Director Rafael Ragos testified about the privileges which inmates get at the right price. These include the entry of prostitutes – called tilapia by BuCor insiders – and the entry of […]
(Eagle News)–President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, Sept. 12, said he will not go after Bureau of Corrections officials who released convicts under the Good Conduct Time Allowance law “in good faith.” Duterte issued the remark as the Ombudsman continues its probe into the release of convicts of heinous crimes under the law, suspending over 27 BuCor officials in the process. The officials included Ramoncito Roque, chief of the BuCor documents and records section, and Senior […]
(Eagle News)–Three resource persons were cited in contempt by the Senate on Thursday, Sept. 12, for “continuously lying.” It was Senator Ronald dela Rosa who motioned for Atty. Fredric Anthony Santos, suspended Bureau of Corrections legal unit chief; New Bilibid Prison hospital doctor Urcisio Cenas; and suspended BuCor records and documents unit chief Ramoncito Roque to be sanctioned before the end of the hearing on problems in BuCor. Roque and Cenas denied they received any […]
(Eagle News)–Former Bureau of Corrections officer in charge Rafael Ragos on Thursday, Sept. 12, detailed other forms of corruption in BuCor, noting that then-Justice Secretary Leila de Lima was one of the “beneficiaries.” Under questioning by Senator Panfilo Lacson, Ragos, who was appointed by De Lima at the helm of the BuCor, said he himself delivered P5 million to De Lima in her house in Parañaque at one time. Ragos said he found the money […]
(Eagle News)–Suspended Bureau of Corrections legal affairs unit chief Fredric Anthony Santos does not believe Good Conduct Time Allowances can be sold at a price for the release of inmates. In an ambush interview on Thursday, Sept. 12, Santos said he first heard about the so-called GCTA for sale in the Senate inquiry into the problems in the BuCor. But Santos admitted during the Senate joint hearing into problems in BuCor that there was corruption […]
