President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his admiration to the newly-appointed head of Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Gerald Bantag for his alleged involvement in a grenade explosion inside the Paranaque City penal institution in 2016.
“Gusto ko siya kasi nagtatapon ng granada daw,” The President said.
In an interview with the reporters Tuesday, President Duterte said Bantag is presumed innocent until proven guilty and the court is still investigating the latter.
“I think the case is in court. He’s facing homicide charges. I don’t think that he did it. If he did, then baka ma-convict siya,” Duterte told reporters
According to the President, he only made a simple marching order to Bantag because he believes that the latter already know what he’s going to do with the people detained in the national penitentiary.
“Alam na niya ‘yan. Siya man ang — siya man ang taga-BJMP, so alam niya. Marching order is to guard and so that they will not escape. That’s why it’s a penitentiary.” he said.
The appointment of Bantag has been announced several days after Senator Christopher “Bong” Go suggested that the next BuCor head should be a killer.
Bantag is the replacement of former BuCor chief Nicanor Faeldon who became controversial after the GCTA mess.
The investigation on the GCTA mess unearthed more irregularities like ‘Hospital pass for sale’ scheme where the inmate can use the hospital facilities in exchange of money.