DILG: Bantag competent to lead BuCor

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año believes that newly-appointed Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag is competent enough to lead the agency.

In a statement on Thursday, Año said Bantag has the professional experience, training and competence because of his experience in service as warden of major city jails in Metro Manila and regional director of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

"As a professional and career BJMP official, Bantag is innately familiar with the Philippine penal system and culture and, therefore, he does not need a long transition and he can immediately begin work to reform the systems in the BuCor," the DILG chief said.

"Sa tingin ko, mahihirapan siyang paikutan ng mga ilang tiwali sa BuCor dahil alam na niya ang mga sistema at kalakaran sa ating mga kulungan," he added.

Bantag replaced Nicanor Faeldon after the latter was fired by President Rodrigo Duterte amid the controversy surrounding the implementation of the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) law.

Bantag, however, is facing charges over the deaths of 10 inmates in an explosion at the Parañaque City Jail in August 2016 when he was still its warden.

The Palace is confident that the case against Bantag would not be an issue.

Meanwhile, Año called on Bantag to "judiciously exercise his mandate and inculcate into his new assignment the professional culture of the DILG."

"It should be the beginning of real reforms that we all have been waiting for in order to truly serve justice and maintain the integrity of our penal system," Año said. — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA News