New BuCor chief was Duterte's personal choice, says Senator Bong Go

Newly appointed Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Chief Gerald Bantag was a personal choice of President Rodrigo Duterte to replace Nicanor Faeldon, who was fired amid the controversy over the implementation of the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA).

It can be recalled that Bantag, the former Jail Warden of Parañaque City Jail figured in a grenade blast that rocked the facility in August 2016.

According to the report of Jun Veneracion in GMA's 24 Oras, an investigation into the incident showed that the inmates tried to talk to Bantag about their situation inside the jail facility.

But the inmates were allegedly armed with a grenade and became violent. Ten inmates died in the explosion, including two Chinese drug suspects.

However, family members of some of the inmates killed in the blast claimed that the explosion was not done by the inmates.

This incident was cited by President Duterte, who issued a statement explaining his choice for new BuCor chief.

"Gusto ko siya. Kasi nagtatapon ng granada daw," he said.

Senator Bong Go, former special assistant to the President, said Bantag was Duterte's personal choice.

"Nasabi ko lang sa kanya noon na kailangan ng killer diyan para linisin," Go said.

Bantag has been involved in controversy as a warden of different jails of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

Bantag was charged with the death of the inmates in the Parañaque City Jail.

Two months later, he became involved in the incident at the Manila City Jail, when the group Batang City Jail held a noise barrage that ended with inmates getting hurt when Bantag fired a gun.

"Oo, nag paputok ako. Parang rabbit yan eh, para mai-scare, di ba? Scare lang naman ang tactics niyan eh. Kung talagang may baril naman syempre depensahan namin sarili namin," he said, adding that what he fired was a rubber bullet.

He was a member of the Philippine National Police Academy, kaagapay class of 1996.

Despite controversies, BJMP officials remained steadfast in their opinion that he would be a good and strict BuCor chief.

As BuCor is under the Department of Justice, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra ordered Bantag to fix the GCTA mess for the inmates, to focus on full computerization, and to stop illegal drug trade in prison, during their meeting. 

Bantag is the fifth to lead the Bureau of Corrections, which has been tainted with corruption prompting President Duterte to call for a total revamp of the agency. — Joahna Lei Casilao/BAP, GMA News