Senate probe into Bilibid 'mass grave' to now focus on Cataroja's escape —Tolentino

The Senate investigation into the alleged mass grave inside the New Bilibid Prison’s septic tank will now focus on how the reported missing person deprived of liberty (PDL) managed to escape the national penitentiary.

Senator Francis Tolentino, chairman of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights, which is conducting the investigation, made the statement following the re-arrest of Michael Angelo Catarejo, the missing PDL, in Angono, Rizal.

"Matutuon ngayon ang hearing ng Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights kung paano nakatakas si PDL Michael Cataroja at kung ano ang naging kapabayaan ng [Bureau of Corrections] sa hearing sa Martes, August 22, 2023,” Tolentino said.

(The hearing of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights will now focus on how PDL Michael Cataroja was able to escape and on the possible lapses on the part of the Bureau of Corrections.)

The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) has yet to provide an official explanation on how Cataroja was able to escape the NBP.

BuCor director general Gregorio Catapang Jr. had already ordered an investigation into Cataroja’s escape from prison.

The 25-year-old Cataroja was imprisoned at the NBP for violation of the Anti-Fencing Law, according to resigned NBP Superintendent Angelina Bautista.

His disappearance led to the inspection of NBP’s septic tank.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla at one time said that Cataroja’s remains had been found decapitated inside one of the septic tanks, but he clarified later on that he was a victim of “fake news.”

During the first Senate justice panel hearing on NBP’s alleged mass grave, the National Bureau of Investigation said the bone fragment found inside the septic tank was not from human but possibly from chicken.

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have launched separate investigations into the recent controversies inside the NBP. —KBK, GMA Integrated News