BuCor chief Bantag arrives at DOJ to explain reported deaths of high-profile inmates

Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) director general Gerald Bantag arrived at the Department of Justice on Monday to explain the reported deaths of high-profile inmates at the New Bilibid Prison allegedly due to COVID-19.

Bantag was summoned by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra over reports that several high-profile prisoners at the NBP, among them Jaybee Sebastian, succumbed to COVID-19.

A man identified as Jaybee Niño Sebastian reportedly died on Saturday at the NBP Hospital due to acute myocardial infarction as a complication of COVID-19. His remains were cremated in a crematorium in Cavite without undergoing autopsy.

It was not clear if he was the same Jaybee Niño Sebastian who testified against detained Senator Leila de Lima in a congressional hearing in 2016 on the alleged proliferation of illegal drugs in the New Bibild Prison.

Bantag later on said while there were prisoners who have died due to COVID-19, the Data Privacy Act prohibits the BuCor from naming them in public. 

In Malacañang, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque assured the public that the DOJ is looking into the deaths of the inmates.

“Nagsimula na po ng imbestigasyon ang Secretary of Justice. Pinauubaya na po ng Palasyo kay Secretary Meynard Guevarra ang imbestigasyon na ito,” Roque said in a televised briefing on Monday. —Ma. Angelica Garcia with Virgil Lopez/KBK, GMA News