Duterte appoints Bantag as BuCor director general

President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Gerald Bantag as director general of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), Malacañang confirmed on Wednesday.

Prior to this development, Bantag was just a secondment from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), said acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar.

“He was previously designated as Director General, but he kept his item/position with the BJMP. Now Mr. Bantag has been appointed directly as the Director-General of BuCor, with a tour of duty not exceeding six years,” he added.

Bantag asked Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra in September 2021 if he had to return to the BJMP after his secondment ended if the newly elected president did not appoint a new BuCor director general by July 1, 2022.

“As discussed during our meeting last October 29, 2021, your secondment to the BuCor may be extended for another year or until September 16, 2022. However, your designation as director general of the BuCor will end on June 30, 2022, unless the then newly-elected president will request you to serve in a hold-over capacity or renew your designation,” Guevarra said in his reply dated November 9, 2021.

“Thus, your secondment to the BuCor will remain effective regardless of your re-appointment or retention or termination as director general until it expires on September 16, 2022 or unless the Memorandum of Agreement between the BJMP and the BuCor is terminated sooner, in accordance with its terms,” he added.

Bantag previously served as warden of the Manila City Jail and Parañaque City Jail. He replaced Nicanor Faeldon, whom Duterte sacked over the controversial release of heinous crime convicts in 2019.

Bantag’s stint as Manila City Jail warden was controversial as inmates opposed in October 2016 the segregation or reclassification of drug offenders in the jail that houses thousands of detainees.

The BJMP defended Bantag’s policy at the time, arguing the purpose of the segregation was to give the drug offenders proper interventions such as therapy programs, physical fitness programs, counseling and spiritual enhancement activities. — VBL, GMA News