PRRD appoints ex-Manila jail warden as BuCor chief

FILE: New Bilibid Prison; the NBP Reservation houses the BuCor headquarters (Photo By Monzonda at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0)

MANILA — Malacañang on Tuesday announced that President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Gerald Bantag as the new director-general of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

“Mr. Bantag was appointed by the President as the new DG of the BuCor based on his professional competence and honesty,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

Bantag, former warden of the Parañaque and Manila City jails, replaced Nicanor Faeldon who was dismissed by the President for disobeying his order to stop the release of almost 2,000 heinous crimes convicts under the controversial Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.

Duterte said he has no plans of reappointing Faeldon, who has had stints at the Office of Civil Defense and Bureau of Customs, since he is already working for the private sector.

“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,” Panelo said.

Bantag also served as director of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)-Mimaropa Region prior to his appointment as new BuCor chief.